In a chemical reaction, the law of conservation of mass states that mass is neither created nor destroyed. This means that the total mass of the reactants must equal the total mass of the products.
In this case, the reactant is calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), and the scientist starts with 30 grams of it.
When VCaCO₃ decomposes, it produces carbon dioxide (CO₂) and calcium oxide (CaO). Regardless of how much of each product is formed, the total mass of all products combined will equal the mass of the starting CaCO₃.
Since 30 grams of CaCO₃ is used, the total mass of the products (CO₂ + CaO) will also be 30 grams.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
30 grams.