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

Answer 1

In this reaction, the number of atoms must be conserved. This means that the total number of atoms before the reaction must be equal to the total number of atoms after the reaction.

Before the reaction:
10 atoms of carbon + 20 atoms of oxygen = 30 atoms

After the reaction:
10 molecules of carbon dioxide = 10 atoms of carbon + 20 atoms of oxygen = 30 atoms

Therefore, there are 30 atoms present in this reaction.