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

• A. The total mass decreases because some mass is destroyed.
• B. The total mass fluctuates randomly.
• C. The total mass remains unchanged.
• D. The total mass increases due to creation of new mass.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.
2. Understand that during a chemical reaction, atoms are rearranged to form new substances, but the total number of atoms remains the same.
3. Since atoms have mass and their total number does not change, the total mass of the reactants must equal the total mass of the products.
4. Therefore, the total mass remains unchanged throughout the chemical reaction.
5. This principle is fundamental in balancing chemical equations and predicting the amounts of products formed from given reactants.