Question

The sandwich example relates to the Law of Conservation of Matter for Chemical Equations. Matter cannot be created nor destroyed. This is why there must be the same number of atoms on the reactant side as on the product side. Looking at the image below, does it demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Matter? Explain why.

Answer 1

Based on the image, it does demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Matter. The sandwich is shown breaking down into its individual ingredients (bread, lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese), and then those same ingredients are shown coming back together to form the sandwich again. Throughout this process, the total number of atoms remains the same, as none are created or destroyed. This illustrates the principle that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, and is consistent with the Law of Conservation of Matter for chemical equations.