Question

I’m a chemical reaction you begin with 18 atoms. When the reaction is over you would expect to have ______ atoms remaining.

Answer 1

18

Step-by-step explanation:

According to conservation of matter (mass), matter can neither be created nor destroyed during a chemical reaction but changes from one form to another. For a chemical to be balanced, it means conservation of matter hold true while unbalanced equation suggests that matter has been created or destroyed. The balanced equation below will give further explanation:

2H2 + O2 —> 2H2O

Reactant:

H => 4 atoms

O => 2 atoms

TOTAL => 4 + 2 = 6

Product:

H => 4 atoms

O => 2 atoms

TOTAL = > 4 + 2 = 6

From the above illustration, we can see that we begin with a total of 6 atoms and also end with a total of 6 atoms.

From the question given above, we were told that the reaction started with 18 atoms. Therefore 18 atoms will also end the reaction.