A student was adding baking soda and vinegar in a bottle to conduct an experiment. They then put a balloon on top of the bottle immediately after adding them together. The student observed that the balloon inflated and got larger. The student then predicted that the chemical reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda had created brand new matter, and would have more mass at the end of the reaction. Would you agree with the student’s prediction or not? Explain your answer. The student's prediction that vinegar and baking soda create new matter was incorrect. The reaction produces carbon dioxide gas, water, and sodium acetate, which inflates a balloon. The total mass of the reactants and products should be equal, resulting in no new matter. The balloon's size may have increased due to the gas produced.
Overall, I would not agree with the student's prediction that the chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda created brand new matter with more mass at the end of the reaction. The law of conservation of mass states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction, only rearranged. In this case, the reactants (vinegar and baking soda) are just rearranging their atoms to form different products (carbon dioxide gas, water, and sodium acetate). The total mass of the reactants should be equal to the total mass of the products. Therefore, there is no creation of new matter with more mass in this reaction.
