Question

Now compare the numbers of nitrogen atoms and hydrogen atoms in the reactants (part b) and the products (part d). What do you find?

a) The number of nitrogen atoms is equal in both reactants and products, while the number of hydrogen atoms increases.
b) The number of nitrogen atoms decreases, and the number of hydrogen atoms stays the same.
c) Both the number of nitrogen atoms and hydrogen atoms increase.
d) Both the number of nitrogen atoms and hydrogen atoms decrease.

Answer 1

In the chemical reaction where nitrogen and hydrogen form ammonia, the number of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms remains consistent between reactants and products, adhering to the Law of Conservation of Mass in a balanced chemical equation.

Step-by-step explanation:

When comparing the number of nitrogen atoms and hydrogen atoms in the reactants and the products during the formation of ammonia, we find that the number of nitrogen atoms is the same on both sides of the reaction, while the number of hydrogen atoms also remains the same. This is because the balanced chemical equation for this reaction is 3H2(g) + N2(g) → 2NH3(g), indicating that 3 molecules of diatomic hydrogen (with a total of 6 hydrogen atoms) react with 1 molecule of diatomic nitrogen to produce 2 molecules of ammonia (each molecule of ammonia contains 3 hydrogen atoms, so 2 molecules contain 6 hydrogen atoms in total). According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, the number of each type of atom must be conserved in a chemical reaction, which is reflected in this balanced equation.