Unit 5 Lesson 5

Name: Period: Date:

Objective:

- SWBAT evaluate particulate diagrams of chemical reactions against the law of conservation of
matter.

The Do Now:

1. Take the next 3 minutes to review the scenario below and jot down your reflections.

2. Share with a partner. Where do you agree? Where do you disagree?

We agree that the reaction for both might be the same.

STAMP: If 50g of sugar is dissolved in 100g of water is that the same as having 50g of sugar and 100g of
water separately? Yes, dissolved doesn’t mean disappear. Therefore, the mass has not been destroyed
and will be the same.

Today we are going to start by watching a quick video ( The law of conservation of mass - Todd Ramsey -
YouTube) on the law of conservation of mass. As we watch the video consider the following questions:
1. What is the law of conservation of mass?

THe law of conservation states that mass cannot be created nor destroyed in chemical reactions.
 2. Why is it difficult to prove the Law of Conservation of Mass when a gas is produced?

It is difficult to prove the law of conservation of mass when a gas is produced because it is hard to collect
and weight the gas.

What does this law mean when we have a chemical reaction? Let’s use the following reaction between
methane gas and oxygen gas.
CH4 + 2O2🡪 CO2 + 2H2O
3. What are the reactants?

Methane and Oxygen

4. What are the products?

Carbon dioxide and water

5. Looking at the reactants, how many atoms of C are there? H? O?

1 atom of C. 4 atoms of H. 4 atoms of O.

6. Looking at the products, how many atoms of C are there? H? O?

1 atom of C. 4 atoms of O. 4 atoms of H.

7. How does this example demonstrate conservation of mass?

This example demonstrates the conservation of mass because there are equal amounts of each atom
on both sides of the reaction.

STAMP: 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. Mass of reactants is equal
to mass of products.

1. A student heated a 10 g sample of a compound in an open container. A chemical reaction occurred.

The mass of the sample was measured again and found to be less than before. What would explain
the change in mass of the sample?
 During the chemical reactions, one of the products must have been a gas. This would result in the
sample of solid product being lower than the reactants.

2. A student pours hydrochloric acid (HCl) into an open beaker that contains a piece of magnesium
(Mg). A chemical reaction occurs, as shown in the equation below.

2HCl(aq) + Mg(s) 🡪 MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)

The products of this reaction and magnesium chloride and hydrogen. The hydrogen is in a gas form, so
it is not measured in the beaker.

The data for the reaction is shown in the table below.

3. A 100 g sample of tin undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid. Is the mass of liquid tin equal
to, less than, or greater than the mass of tin in the original sample?

The mass of liquid tin is equal to the mass of tin in the original sample of tin.

4. Antoine Lavoisier was one of the first scientists to state the law of conservation of mass. When he
heated a sample of tin and air in an airtight flask, tin reacted with oxygen in the air to produce tin
oxide. How did the mass of the flask and its contents change because of this reaction?

The mass of the flask and its contents will remain the same.

5. A teacher places a cup of coffee onto an electronic balance at the front of the science laboratory.
The teacher then adds three large teaspoons of sugar to the coffee. The volume of the coffee does
not appear to increase. What happens to the mass displayed on the front of the balance?
The mass on the balance will increase because sugar has mass and that mass is being added to the
coffee. The volume doesn’t appear to change because the sugar is being dissolved.

STAMP: When 2.4 g of magnesium reacts with 5.6 g of oxygen, 8 g of magnesium oxide is produced.
Which law is demonstrated by these masses? The law of conservation of mass.

Think back to our initial formula:

CH4 + 2O2🡪 CO2 + 2H2O
1. How would you draw this reaction as a particle diagram?

2. How does this picture show that mass is conserved from the reactant side to the product side?

This picture shows that mass is conserved because there are equal amounts of each atom on
both sides of the reaction.

3. What happens to the particles in a chemical reaction?

The particles are just rearranged. The hydrogen atoms were bound to Carbon, but after the
reaction they are bound to oxygen.
STAMP: Can atoms be changed into another atom? Why not? No. Hydrogen can’t just become another
element. In order to have a different element, there would need to be a change in the number of
protons.

1. The law of conservation of mass can be demonstrated by a chemical reaction. Which of the
following models of a chemical reaction best represents the law of conservation of mass

A – This is the only depiction of equal amounts of reactants and products.

2. Each circle below represents a different atom.

Which diagram illustrates that matter is always conserved during a chemical reaction? Why?
 A – represents conservation of mass in a chemical reaction the best because it has the
same amount of reactants as products. The other chemical reactions result in additional
products or completely different elements.

3. Which of the following particle diagrams shows the law of conservation of mass being
preserved?

A
4. When a wooden log burns on a fire, a lot of carbon dioxide is produced as well as heat and light.
What can we infer about the mass of the ash that remains after the wood has burnt?
 The ash has the same mass as the original log.

Exit Ticket:

1. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) readily reacts with carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce potassium
carbonate (K2CO3) and H2O.
a. Balance the equation to ensure conservation of mass.

2(KOH) + CO2 >>> K2CO3 + H2O

K (1)2 = 2 K2

O 3+1 = 4 O 4

H ( 1)2 = 2 H 2

C1 C 1

b. Draw a particle diagram modeling conservation of mass.

2. In the procedure shown above, a calcium chloride solution is mixed with a sodium sulfate
solution to create the products shown. Which of the following is illustrated by this activity?
a. The law of conservation of mass
b. The theory of thermal equilibrium
c. The law of conservation of momentum
d. The theory of covalent bonding

3. According to the law of conservation of mass, how much zinc was present in the zinc carbonate?

a. 40 g
b. 88 g
c. 104 g
d. 256g