According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, how do the total mass of the products in a chemical reaction compare to the total mass of the reactants?

• A. The total mass of the products varies depending on the type of reaction.
• B. The total mass of the products is less than the total mass of the reactants.
• C. The total mass of the products is equal to the total mass of the reactants.
• D. The total mass of the products is greater than the total mass of the reactants.

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 are neither lost nor gained, the total mass of all reactants before the reaction must be equal to the total mass of all products after the reaction.
4. Express this concept mathematically as: \(\text{Mass of reactants} = \text{Mass of products}\).
5. Therefore, regardless of the type of chemical reaction, the total mass of the products is always equal to the total mass of the reactants.