You started with only 6.750 g of sodium carbonate, but you ended up with more mass than that at the end of the reaction. According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, matter cannot be created or destroyed, so how is it possible for the product to weigh more than the starting material? (State your answer in 1-2 complete sentences.)

Question

Uriel Hooper

Chemistry

13 October, 08:07

You started with only 6.750 g of sodium carbonate, but you ended up with more mass than that at the end of the reaction. According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, matter cannot be created or destroyed, so how is it possible for the product to weigh more than the starting material? (State your answer in 1-2 complete sentences.)

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Carlos Fleming · Answer 1

It is not possible, since the total weight of all the reagents involved in the reaction is equal to the total weight of the product, since it is not possible to create or destroy atoms, thus, it is not possible to change the weight of the product. It is equal to the weight of the reagent.