Question

French scientist Antoine Lavoisier was one of the first to study and explain chemical reactions. He took a small sample of mercury oxide (a compound made of mercury and oxygen which looks like a red powder) and heated it up in a test tube over a flame. His sample before starting had a mass of 7 grams. After, the test tube had left over silver liquid mercury and a mass of 3 grams. How much oxygen escaped the test tube? What is the law that explains this concept? How would you measure the oxygen that escaped?

Answer 1

According to the law of conservation of mass, the amount of matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. In Antoine Lavoisier's experiment, the mass of the mercury oxide decreased from 7 grams to 3 grams, meaning 4 grams of oxygen escaped.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept being discussed here is the law of conservation of mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. In the experiment conducted by Antoine Lavoisier, the mass of the mercury oxide before the reaction was 7 grams. After the reaction, the leftover silver liquid mercury had a mass of 3 grams. The oxygen that escaped can be calculated by subtracting the mass of the mercury from the initial mass of the mercury oxide. Therefore, the amount of oxygen that escaped the test tube is 7 grams - 3 grams = 4 grams.