The reaction 4Fe+3O

2

→2Fe
2

O
3

represents:
A. a conservation of moles
B. a phase change
C. a conservation of atoms
D. an unbalanced equation

1 answer

The reaction \( 4\text{Fe} + 3\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3 \) represents:

C. a conservation of atoms

In this equation, the number of atoms of each element on the reactant side (4 Fe and 6 O) is equal to the number of atoms of each element on the product side (4 Fe and 6 O). This illustrates the law of conservation of mass, which states that atoms are neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.