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 30 30 15 15 10 10 20

Answer 1

To determine the total number of atoms present in the reaction, we need to consider the reactants and the products separately.

Reactants:

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

Total in reactants = 10 (C) + 20 (O) = 30 atoms

Products: Each molecule of carbon dioxide (CO₂) consists of:

• 1 carbon (C) atom
• 2 oxygen (O) atoms

For 10 molecules of CO₂:

• C atoms = 10 (since each CO₂ has 1 C)
• O atoms = 10 × 2 = 20 (since each CO₂ has 2 O)

Total in products = 10 (C) + 20 (O) = 30 atoms

Therefore, according to the law of conservation of matter, the total number of atoms before and after the reaction remains the same.

So the total number of atoms in this reaction is 30.