Question
When a metal reacts with air (oxygen) the mass should
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Answer
increase or decrease?
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
When a metal reacts with air (specifically with oxygen), the mass of the system should increase. This is because the metal combines with oxygen from the air to form a metal oxide, which has a greater mass than the original metal alone. For example, if you take magnesium metal and burn it in the presence of oxygen, it reacts to form magnesium oxide, resulting in a total mass that is the sum of the mass of the original magnesium and the oxygen that was reacted with it.
In summary, during the reaction, the mass of the metal plus the mass of the oxygen from the air increases due to the formation of a compound (the metal oxide).
In summary, during the reaction, the mass of the metal plus the mass of the oxygen from the air increases due to the formation of a compound (the metal oxide).
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
The mass should **increase** when a metal reacts with oxygen in air.
This is because during the reaction, the metal combines with oxygen from the air to form a metal oxide. The total mass of the products (the metal oxide) will be greater than the initial mass of the metal alone, as it now includes the mass of the oxygen that has reacted with it.
For example, if magnesium reacts with oxygen to form magnesium oxide, the mass of the magnesium oxide will be greater than the mass of the original magnesium due to the addition of the oxygen.
This is because during the reaction, the metal combines with oxygen from the air to form a metal oxide. The total mass of the products (the metal oxide) will be greater than the initial mass of the metal alone, as it now includes the mass of the oxygen that has reacted with it.
For example, if magnesium reacts with oxygen to form magnesium oxide, the mass of the magnesium oxide will be greater than the mass of the original magnesium due to the addition of the oxygen.