Asked by Makayla

In this chemical equation, why is the number of atoms the same on each side of the arrow?

Matter cannot be created or destroyed.
The number of atoms is not the same on both sides.
Chemical reactions produce new matter.
Chemical reactions reduce matter but create energy.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Matter cannot be created or destroyed.

This is the law of conservation of mass: in a chemical reaction atoms are rearranged into new molecules but the total number of each type of atom stays the same. The other statements are incorrect: the number of atoms is the same on both sides (so the second option is false), chemical reactions do not create new matter, and they do not reduce matter (they may release or absorb energy but mass/atoms are conserved).