Iron combines with oxygen to produce rust according to the following reaction.4Fe + 3O2 → rustBased on the law of conservation of mass, which could be the product of the reaction?(1 point)Responses4FeO24FeO 2Fe2O3Fe 2 O 32Fe2O32Fe 2 O 33FeO2

1 answer

The reaction provided, \(4 \text{Fe} + 3 \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{rust}\), indicates that iron (Fe) combines with oxygen (O₂) to form rust. Rust is primarily composed of iron(III) oxide, which is represented as \( \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3 \).

To apply the law of conservation of mass, the products must have the same number of atoms of each element as the reactants.

In the reaction:

  • There are 4 iron atoms (Fe) consumed on the left side.
  • On the right side, to balance the iron atoms, we can have \(2 \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3\), which contains 4 iron atoms (2 × 2 = 4 Fe) and 6 oxygen atoms (2 × 3 = 6 O).

Thus, the product of the reaction can be \(2 \text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3\).

So, in your list of responses, the correct answer for the product of the reaction based on the law of conservation of mass is: 2Fe₂O₃.