According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, what happens to the atoms during a chemical reaction?

• A. Atoms combine to form a single giant atom.
• B. Atoms lose mass and become smaller.
• C. Atoms are rearranged to form new substances, but their total number remains unchanged.
• D. Atoms are destroyed and new atoms are created.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.
2. Recognize that atoms are the fundamental units of matter and that during a chemical reaction, these atoms are neither created nor destroyed.
3. Know that atoms are rearranged during a chemical reaction to form new substances, meaning the bonds between atoms change but the atoms themselves remain intact.
4. Realize that because atoms are conserved, the total number of each type of atom before and after the reaction remains the same.
5. Conclude that the correct interpretation is that atoms are rearranged to form new substances, but their total number remains unchanged.