Question

Magnesium hydroxide reacts with nitric acid to produce magnesium nitrate and water.

Mg(OH)2+2HNO3→Mg(NO3)2+2H2O

In one to two sentences, explain how because this chemical equation is balanced, it demonstrates that matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.

Answer 1

The balanced equation shows the same number of each type of atom on both sides (1 Mg, 2 N, 4 H, and 8 O), so the total mass is unchanged; this demonstrates that atoms (and thus matter) are neither created nor destroyed in the reaction.