What does it mean to say that matter is conserved in a chemical reaction? Use the words REACTANTS and PRODUCTS in your answer.
Saying that matter is conserved in a chemical reaction implies that the total amount of matter involved remains constant throughout the process. This means that the total mass of the reactants before the reaction must be equal to the total mass of the products after the reaction. In other words, no matter is created or destroyed during a chemical reaction; it simply undergoes a rearrangement of atoms.
Therefore, the atoms present in the reactants are rearranged to form the products without any loss or gain of atoms. The chemical bonds between the atoms in the reactants are broken, and new bonds are formed to create the products. However, the total number of atoms in the system remains the same before and after the reaction.