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)
The law of conservation of matter states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction, only rearranged. Therefore, the number of atoms before and after the reaction must be the same.
In this reaction, we start with 10 atoms of carbon (C) and 20 atoms of oxygen (O). After the reaction, we have 10 molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2), which means we have a total of 10 x 2 = 20 atoms of oxygen.
Therefore, the number of atoms present in this reaction is 10 atoms of carbon + 20 atoms of oxygen = 30 atoms in total.
To determine the number of atoms present in this reaction, we need to look at the ratio of carbon atoms to carbon dioxide molecules in the reaction. Given that 10 atoms of carbon react to form 10 molecules of carbon dioxide, we can conclude that there is 1 carbon atom per carbon dioxide molecule.
Similarly, if there are 20 atoms of oxygen reacting with 10 carbon atoms, we can deduce that there are 2 oxygen atoms per carbon dioxide molecule.
Therefore, the total number of atoms in this reaction is calculated by multiplying the number of carbon dioxide molecules by the total number of atoms in each molecule:
10 molecules CO2 * (1 carbon atom + 2 oxygen atoms) = 10 carbon atoms + 20 oxygen atoms = 30 atoms in total.
To determine the number of atoms present in the reaction, we need to calculate the total number of atoms in each element before and after the reaction.
In this case, we have 10 atoms of carbon (C) reacting with 20 atoms of oxygen (O) to form 10 molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Before the reaction:
Carbon (C): 10 atoms
Oxygen (O): 20 atoms
After the reaction:
Carbon (C): 10 atoms (remains unchanged)
Oxygen (O): Each molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2) consists of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. Since we have 10 molecules of CO2, we have a total of 10 x 2 = 20 oxygen atoms.
Therefore, the total number of atoms present in this reaction is:
10 atoms of carbon (C) + 20 atoms of oxygen (O) = 30 atoms in total.
So, according to the law of conservation of matter, there are 30 atoms present in this reaction.