To find the amount of magnesium that reacts with oxygen to produce magnesium oxide, we can use the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
According to this law, the total mass of reactants must equal the total mass of products. In this case, the reactants are magnesium (Mg) and oxygen (O), and the product is magnesium oxide (MgO).
Given:
- Mass of oxygen = 15.0 grams
- Mass of magnesium oxide produced = 39.5 grams
Using the conservation of mass, we can set up the following equation:
\[ \text{Mass of Mg} + \text{Mass of O} = \text{Mass of MgO} \]
Let \( m_{Mg} \) be the mass of magnesium:
\[ m_{Mg} + 15.0 , \text{g} = 39.5 , \text{g} \]
Now, we can solve for \( m_{Mg} \):
\[ m_{Mg} = 39.5 , \text{g} - 15.0 , \text{g} \]
\[ m_{Mg} = 24.5 , \text{g} \]
So, the amount of magnesium that will react with all 15.0 grams of oxygen to produce 39.5 grams of magnesium oxide is 24.5 grams.
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