A student combines two liquids in a beaker. She observes that the mass of the combined liquid is less than the mass of the two separate liquids. The student claims that this observation shows that matter is not conserved in chemical reactions. Which statement explains why the student’s claim is incorrect?(1 point)

Responses

The reaction produced a gas that escaped the beaker.
The reaction produced a gas that escaped the beaker.
The reaction did not change the physical properties of the liquids.
The reaction did not change the physical properties of the liquids.
The product contained fewer atoms than the reactants.
The product contained fewer atoms than the reactants.
The combined liquid was warmer than the two separate liquids.

The reaction produced a gas that escaped the beaker.

This statement explains why the mass of the combined liquid is less than the mass of the two separate liquids. The gas that was produced during the reaction escaped the beaker, leading to a decrease in mass. This does not mean that matter is not conserved in chemical reactions, as the gas that was produced still exists in the system but is not accounted for in the mass of the combined liquid.