Suppose 10 atoms of carbon react with 20 atoms of oxygen to form 10 molecules of carbon dioxide. According to the law of conservation of matter, how many atoms are present in this reaction?
1. 20
2. 10
3. 15
4. 30
The law of conservation of matter states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction, only rearranged. Thus, the number of atoms present before the reaction must be equal to the number of atoms present after the reaction.
In this case, we start with 10 atoms of carbon and 20 atoms of oxygen, for a total of 30 atoms. After the reaction, we have 10 molecules of carbon dioxide, which means there are 10 atoms of carbon and 20 atoms of oxygen (since each molecule of carbon dioxide has one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms).
Therefore, the total number of atoms present in this reaction is 10 + 20 = 30.
The correct answer is 4. 30.
To determine the number of atoms present in this reaction, we need to analyze the stoichiometry of the reaction.
Given that 10 atoms of carbon react with 20 atoms of oxygen to form 10 molecules of carbon dioxide, we can break down the reactants and products as follows:
Reactants:
10 atoms of carbon
20 atoms of oxygen
Products:
10 molecules of carbon dioxide
Since each molecule of carbon dioxide consists of 1 carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms, we can calculate the total number of atoms in the products:
10 molecules of carbon dioxide × (1 carbon atom + 2 oxygen atoms per molecule) = 10 carbon atoms + 20 oxygen atoms
Therefore, the total number of atoms present in this reaction is 10 carbon atoms + 20 oxygen atoms = 30 atoms.
So, the correct answer is 4. 30.
To determine the number of atoms present in this reaction, we can start by calculating the total number of atoms in the reactants and then comparing it to the total number of atoms in the products.
Given:
Number of carbon atoms in reactants = 10
Number of oxygen atoms in reactants = 20
Since carbon dioxide (CO2) has 1 carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms per molecule, the total number of atoms in the product would be:
Number of carbon atoms = 10 x 1 = 10
Number of oxygen atoms = 10 x 2 = 20
Now, let's add up the number of atoms in the reactants and the number of atoms in the products:
Number of carbon atoms = 10 (from reactants) + 10 (from product) = 20
Number of oxygen atoms = 20 (from reactants) + 20 (from product) = 40
According to the law of conservation of matter, the total number of atoms in the reactants must be equal to the total number of atoms in the products. However, in this reaction, the total number of oxygen atoms is different, so we cannot find an exact match among the given choices.
Therefore, none of the given choices (1, 2, 3, or 4) accurately represents the number of atoms present in this reaction.