LAWS OF CHEMICAL COMBINATION

Law of Conservation of Mass:

In a chemical reaction, mass is conserved. The total mass of reactants is equal to the total mass of products.

This law is a direct consequence of a postulate of Dalton’s Atomic Theory which states that “Atoms can neither

be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction”.

Law of Definite Composition:

This law states that the composition or percentage of different elements in a compound by mass is same

irrespective of the source of the compound. For example, the ratio by mass of Carbon and Oxygen in CO 2 is the

same (3:8) irrespective of the source of carbon di oxide.

Gay Lussac’s Law of Combining Volumes:

This law states that the ratio of volumes of gaseous compounds participating in a chemical reaction and

formed in a chemical reaction is in the form of simple whole numbers. This law was properly explained by

Avogadro’s work.

Avogadro’s Law:

This law states that at a fixed temperature and pressure, the volume of a gaseous compound is directly

proportional to the number of moles.