What is the law of conservation of mass used for?

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The law of conservation of mass states that mass within a closed system remains the same over time. Discover more about the law of conservation of mass, including its importance, equations, and some examples of this law in action.

What is the Law of Conservation of Mass?

The law of conservation of mass states that

“The mass in an isolated system can neither be created nor be destroyed but can be transformed from one form to another”.

According to the law of conservation of mass, the mass of the reactants must be equal to the mass of the products for a low energy thermodynamic process.

It is believed that there are a few assumptions from classical mechanics which define mass conservation. Later the law of conservation of mass was modified with the help of quantum mechanics and special relativity that energy and mass are one conserved quantity. In 1789, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier discovered the law of conservation of mass.

Law of conservation of mass can be expressed in the differential form using the continuity equation in fluid mechanics and continuum mechanics as:

\(\begin{array}{l}\frac{\partial \rho }{\partial t}+\bigtriangledown (\rho v)=0\end{array} \)

Where,

  • ρ is the density
  • t is the time
  • v is the velocity
  • ▽ is the divergence

Related Articles:

  • Law of Conservation of Momentum Derivation
  • Mass And Weight

  • Combustion process: Burning of wood is a conservation of mass as the burning of wood involves Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, water vapor and ashes.
  • Chemical reactions: To get one molecule of H2O (water) with the molecular weight of 10, Hydrogen with molecular weight 2 is added with Oxygen whose molecular weight is 8, thereby conserving the mass.

Q1. 10 grams of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) produces 3.8 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 6.2 grams of calcium oxide (CaO). Represent this reaction in terms of law of conservation of mass.
Ans: According to law of conservation of mass: Mass of reactants = Mass of products

∴ 10 gram of CaCO3 = 3.8 grams of CO2 + 6.2 grams of CaO


10 grams of reactant = 10 grams of products

Hence, it is proved that the law of conservation of mass is followed by the above reaction.

During a chemical reaction, atoms are neither created nor destroyed. The atoms of the reactants are just rearranged to form products. Hence, there is no change in mass in a chemical reaction.

According to the law of conservation of mass, during any physical or chemical change, the matter is neither created nor destroyed. However, it may change from one form to another. Below, we have listed an experiment that will help you verify the law of conservation of mass. Requirements: H-shaped tube, also known as Landolt’s tube; Sodium chloride solution; silver nitrate solution.

Procedure: Sodium chloride solution is taken in one limb of the H-tube and silver nitrate solution in the other limb as shown in the figure. Both the limbs are now sealed and weighed. Now the tubes are averted so that the solutions can mix up together and react chemically. The reaction takes place and a white precipitate of silver chloride is obtained. The tube is weighed after the reaction has taken place. The mass of the tube is found to be exactly the same as the mass obtained before inverting the tube. This experiment clearly verifies the law of conservation of mass.

The ultimate source of energy in our present universe is the Big Bang. All the energy was created at the beginning of time and as the universe grew several stages of particulate matter developed, produced from that energy. By the time of the Modern Universe, the energy was distributed either into mass, or kinetic energy or chemical energy in lumps of matter, or radiant energy. The masses are classified into galaxies and stars within them. The sun is one of those stars and got the energy from the primordial Big Bang.

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What is the law of conservation of mass used for?

What is the law of conservation of mass used for?

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What is the law of conservation of mass used for?

Chemistry is an important subject that you’ll definitely need to know if you’re planning to pursue a chemistry or other science major in college. One thing you should be familiar with is the law of conservation of mass. What is it? And how is it used in chemistry?

Keep reading to learn what the law of conservation of mass is and how it came to be. We will also give you some law of conservation of mass examples to help you understand the concept better.

What Is the Law of Conservation of Mass?

First off, exactly what is the law of conservation of mass? This law states that in a closed system, matter can neither be created nor destroyed—it can only change form.

Put differently, the amount, or mass, of matter in an isolated system will always be constant regardless of any chemical reactions or physical changes that take place. (Note that an isolated or closed system is one that does not interact with its environment.)

This law is important in chemistry, particularly when combining different materials and testing the reactions between them.

In chemistry, the law of conservation of mass states that the mass of the products (the chemical substances created by a chemical reaction) will always equal the mass of the reactants (the substances that make the chemical reaction).

Think of it as being similar to balancing an algebraic equation. Both sides around an equal sign might look different (for example, 6a + 2b = 20), but they still represent the same total quantity. This is similar to how the mass must be constant for all matter in a closed system—even if that matter changes form!

But how does the law of conservation of mass work?

When a substance undergoes a chemical reaction, you might assume that some or even all of the matter present is disappearing, but, in actuality, it's simply changing form.

Think about when a liquid turns into a gas. You might think that the matter (in this case, the liquid) has simply vanished. But if you were to actually measure the gas, you'd find that the initial mass of the liquid hasn’t actually changed. What this means is that the substance, which is now a gas, still has the same mass it had when it was a liquid (yes—gas has mass, too!).

What Is the History Behind the Law of Conservation of Mass?

Though many people, including the ancient Greeks, laid the scientific groundwork necessary for the discovery of the law of conservation of mass, it is French chemist Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) who is most often credited as its discoverer. This is also why the law is occasionally called Lavoisier’s law.

What is the law of conservation of mass used for?
Lavoisier lookin' proud of his discovery.

In the late 1700s, Lavoisier proved through experimentation that the total mass does not change in a chemical reaction, leading him to declare that matter is always conserved in a chemical reaction.

Lavoisier’s experiments marked the first time someone clearly tested this idea of the conservation of matter by measuring the masses of materials both before and after they underwent a chemical reaction.

Ultimately, the discovery of the law of conservation of mass was immensely significant to the field of chemistry because it proved that matter wasn’t simply disappearing (as it appeared to be) but was rather changing form into another substance of equal mass.

What Are Some Law of Conservation of Mass Examples?

Law of conservation of mass examples are useful for visualizing and understanding this crucial scientific concept. Here are two examples to help illustrate how this law works.

What is the law of conservation of mass used for?

Example 1: The Bonfire/Campfire

One common example you’ll come across is the image of a bonfire or campfire.

Picture this: you’ve gathered some sticks with friends and lit them with a match. After a couple of toasted marshmallows and campfire songs, you realize that the bonfire, or campfire, you've built has completely burned down. All you’re left with is a small pile of ashes and some smoke.

Your initial instinct might be to assume that some of the campfire's original mass from the sticks has somehow vanished. But it actually hasn’t—it’s simply transformed!

In this scenario, as the sticks burned, they combined with oxygen in the air to turn into not just ash but also carbon dioxide and water vapor. As a result, If we measured the total mass of the wooden sticks and the oxygen before setting the sticks on fire, we'd discover that this mass is equal to the mass of the ashes, carbon dioxide, and water vapor combined.

What is the law of conservation of mass used for?

Example 2: The Burning Candle

A similar law of conservation of mass example is the image of a burning candle.

For this example, picture a regular candle, with wax and a wick. Once the candle completely burns down, though, you can see that there is definitely far less wax than there was before you lit it. This means that some of the wax (not all of it, as you’ve likely noticed with candles you’ve lit in real life!) has been transformed into gases—namely, water vapor and carbon dioxide.

As the previous example with the bonfire has shown, no matter (and therefore no mass) is lost through the process of burning.

Recap: What Is the Law of Conservation of Mass?

The law of conservation of mass is a scientific law popularized and systematized by the 18th-century French chemist Antoine Lavoisier.

According to the law, in an isolated system, matter cannot be created or destroyedonly changed. This means that the total mass of all substances before a chemical reaction will equal the total mass of all substances after a chemical reaction. Simply put, matter (and thus mass) is always conserved, even if a substance changes chemical or physical form.

Knowing this scientific law is important for the study of chemistry, so if you plan to get into this field, you'll definitely want to understand what the law of conservation of mass is all about!

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What is the law of conservation of mass used for?