Suppose 10 atoms of carbon (c) react with 20 atoms of oxygen(o) to form 10 molecules of carbon dioxide (co2) . According to the law of conservation of matter, how many atoms are present in this reaction

1 answer

According to the law of conservation of matter, the total number of atoms before and after a reaction must be the same.

In this reaction:

10 atoms of carbon (C) react with 20 atoms of oxygen (O)

The reactants contain a total of 10 + 20 = 30 atoms.

After the reaction, 10 molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2) are formed. Each CO2 molecule contains 1 carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms.

So, 10 molecules of CO2 contain a total of 10 x 1 = 10 carbon atoms and 10 x 2 = 20 oxygen atoms.

Therefore, the total number of atoms after the reaction is 10 (carbon atoms) + 20 (oxygen atoms) = 30 atoms, which is the same as the total number of atoms before the reaction.

Thus, according to the law of conservation of matter, there are 30 atoms present in this reaction.