A student combines two liquids in a beaker. She observes that the mass of the combined liquid is less than the mass of the two separate liquids. The student claims that this observation shows that matter is not conserved in chemical reactions. Which statement explains why the student’s claim is incorrect?(1 point)

Question

Responses

The reaction produced a gas that escaped the beaker.

The product contained fewer atoms than the reactants.

The reaction did not change the physical properties of the liquids.

The combined liquid was warmer than the two separate liquids.

Answer 1

The correct statement that explains why the student’s claim is incorrect is:

The reaction produced a gas that escaped the beaker.

This response highlights that during the mixing of the two liquids, a gas was released and not contained within the beaker, leading to a lower observed mass of the combined liquids. Matter is conserved overall, but if a gas escapes, it may give the appearance that mass is lost.