The law of conservation of mass states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction; instead, it is conserved. This means that the total mass of the reactants must equal the total mass of the products.
To determine which representation correctly illustrates this law, we need to look for an equation where the number and type of balls (representing mass or atoms) on the left side before the reaction equals the number and type of balls on the right side after the reaction.
Let's analyze the options:
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Three white balls + two black balls → one white ball attached to three black balls
- Left: 3 white, 2 black → Right: 1 white, 3 black (not conserved; lost mass)
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Three black balls + one white ball → one white ball attached to two black balls
- Left: 3 black, 1 white → Right: 1 white, 2 black (not conserved; lost mass)
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One white ball attached to two black balls + one white ball → two sets of one white ball attached to two black balls
- Left: 1 white (attached to 2 black) + 1 white → Right: 2 (each attached to 2 black) (mass conserved)
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Two sets of two black balls attached to each other (4 black balls total) + two white balls attached to each other → one white ball attached to two black balls next to another white ball attached to two black balls
- Left: 2 white (each attached to 2 black) + 4 black → Right: 2 white (each attached to 2 black) (mass conserved)
From these analyses, options 3 and 4 correctly illustrate the law of conservation of mass as they maintain the same number of each type of ball on both sides of the equation. However, option 3 has a simpler representation and is a clear example of conservation.
Therefore, the representation that best illustrates the law of conservation of mass is option 3.
3 answers