Understanding the Law of

Conservation of Mass
• REARRANGING ATOMS

 Atoms are rearranged in a chemical reaction. The substances that:

 react together are called the reactants.

 are formed in the reaction are called the products.

 No atoms are created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.

 The conservation of mass: This means that the total mass of the

reactants is the same as the total mass of the products. We say that mass

is conserved in a chemical reaction.

 Who Discovered this Law?
• 1789, France
• Antoine Lavoisier
• He is known as the “Father of Chemistry”
because he made it a quantitative science.
What does the Law of Conservation
of Mass State?
• During any chemical reaction, matter is
neither created nor destroyed. Mass is
conserved from reactants to products.

• Therefore,
MASS REACTANTS = MASS PRODUCTS
Iron + Sulfur ----- Iron sulfide

In a chemical reaction atoms form new combinations. Atoms may either join
together with other atoms or they may separate and form new combinations.

Magnesium + Hydrochloric acid --------- Magnesium chloride + hydrogen

No element that is present in the reactants disappears from the products.

No new element appears in the product

.
THE NUMBER OF ATOMS IS ASLO THE SAME.

REACTANTS – Mg – 1 atom. PRODUCTS : Mg -1

H – 2 atom. Cl – 2
Cl – 2 atom H -2
What does the law really mean?
CH4 (g) + 2O2 (g)  CO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)

methane gas oxygen gas carbon dioxide gas water

Reactants: methane gas (CH4) and oxygen gas (O2)

Products: carbon dioxide gas (CO2) and water (H2O)

“” means yields.

 Note about showing “conservation” in
particle diagrams
If you have the reaction:
A2 + B2 A3B

You would show conservation by drawing

+ 

3A2 + 1B2  2A3B

 Solving simple math problems involving the
Law of Conservation of Mass
– copy both solution and answer!
MASS REACTANTS = MASS PRODUCTS

• If 16 grams of CH4 reacts completely with

64 grams of O2, what mass of products
should form?
CH4 (g) + 2O2 (g)  CO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)

methane gas oxygen gas carbon dioxide gas water

16g + 64g = Xg
80 g = X
 Another Problem…
• If 32 grams of CH4 reacts completely with
128 g of O2, and 88 g of CO2 forms, how
many grams of H2O form?
CH4 (g) + 2O2 (g)  CO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)

methane gas oxygen gas carbon dioxide gas water

32 g + 128 g = 88 g + X
160 g = 88 g + X
72 g = X
 Another Problem…
• If 8 grams of CH4 react completely with
oxygen, and 22 g of CO2 and 9 g of H2O
form, how much oxygen (O2) was
consumed?
CH4 (g) + 2O2 (g)  CO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)

methane gas oxygen gas carbon dioxide gas water

8g + X = 22 g + 9g
8g + X = 31 g
X = 23 g