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The Law of Conservation of Mass

Learn about the law of conservation of mass, first described by Antoine Lavoisier, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed. Watch a short video to understand how atoms can be rearranged in chemical reactions, resulting in the conservation of mass. Discover why alchemy's quest to turn non-precious metals into gold is not possible.

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The Law of Conservation of Mass

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  1. The Law ofConservation of Mass aka The Conservation of Matter (You just can’t get rid of this stuff.)

  2. “Matter cannot be created or destroyed.” • The law of conservation of mass was first described by Antoine Lavoisier (French, 1743-1794) • He demonstrated that you can’t make, or get rid of, matter (atoms). • Lavoisier is considered the father of modern chemistry, among many things. • Click on image for short video (4:21).

  3. Atoms can be rearranged into different combinations(called molecules) over and over.And that is what chemical reactions are. • And the same number of atoms in thereactants (before the reaction) will be in theproducts(after the reaction). • And that is why the mass before is the same as the mass after – in other words, it is conserved.

  4. The atoms in molecules can be separated and rearranged over and over, in countless different ways.But they remain the same atoms - they just don’t ever go away.

  5. And if it is a “closed system” (meaning nothing can escape), the total mass of the reactants will always equal the total mass of the products.

  6. Click for video!

  7. Alchemy • For years, people tried to turn a non-precious metal - like lead (Pb) - into a precious metal - like gold (Ag). • Can you now explain why this is not possible?

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