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 point) Responses 20 20 30 30 10 10 15

Answer 1

According to the law of conservation of matter, the total number of atoms must be the same on both sides of a chemical reaction. In this case, we have:

• Reactants:

  • 10 carbon (C) atoms
  • 20 oxygen (O) atoms

• Products:

  • Each molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2) contains 1 carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms. Therefore, in 10 molecules of CO2, there are:
    • 10 carbon atoms
    • 20 oxygen atoms

Now, let's summarize the total number of atoms:

• Total carbon atoms: 10 (from reactants) + 10 (from products) = 10 (which remains the same)
• Total oxygen atoms: 20 (from reactants) + 20 (from products) = 20 (which also remains the same)

Adding them up gives:

• Total number of atoms = Total carbon atoms + Total oxygen atoms
• Total number of atoms = 10 + 20 = 30

Therefore, the total number of atoms present in this reaction is 30.