Question
Sasha does an experiment that involves burning an 8 gram strip of magnesium metal in an open flame. After the experiment Sasha measured 5.5 grams of white ash leftover after burning the strip of metal. Does this experiment show the law of conservation of matter?
yes, because the missing mass was released as smoke
yes, the missing mass was trapped by the closed system
no, because the mass measured after the experiment was decreased
no, because the magnesium was burned so mass was not lost
yes, because the missing mass was released as smoke
yes, the missing mass was trapped by the closed system
no, because the mass measured after the experiment was decreased
no, because the magnesium was burned so mass was not lost
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Yes, this experiment does show the law of conservation of matter. The correct answer is:
**no, because the magnesium was burned so mass was not lost.**
The law of conservation of matter states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system. In this experiment, the magnesium burned and reacted with oxygen in the air to form magnesium oxide, which is the white ash measured. The mass of the solid product (ash) plus the mass of any gases produced (such as smoke or other byproducts) should equal the mass of the original magnesium strip. The apparent "missing mass" does not imply that mass was lost; it indicates that some of the material has transformed into different forms (like gas) and is no longer measured in the solid ash.
**no, because the magnesium was burned so mass was not lost.**
The law of conservation of matter states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system. In this experiment, the magnesium burned and reacted with oxygen in the air to form magnesium oxide, which is the white ash measured. The mass of the solid product (ash) plus the mass of any gases produced (such as smoke or other byproducts) should equal the mass of the original magnesium strip. The apparent "missing mass" does not imply that mass was lost; it indicates that some of the material has transformed into different forms (like gas) and is no longer measured in the solid ash.