When a chemical reaction occurs, what happens to the atoms of the two substances?

Answer 1

When a chemical reaction occurs, the atoms of the reactant substances rearrange to form new substances, known as products. During this process:

1. Bonds Break: The chemical bonds holding the atoms together in the reactants are broken.

2. Atoms Rearrange: The individual atoms that were part of the reactants are then rearranged to form new bonds with other atoms.

3. Bonds Form: New bonds are created to form the products of the reaction.

Throughout this process, the total number of atoms remains the same due to the law of conservation of mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. The types of atoms present and their arrangements may change, resulting in different chemical properties and structures in the products compared to the reactants.