A sample of CaCO3 was heated, causing it to form CaO and CO2 gas. Solid CaO remained behind, while the CO2 escaped to the atmosphere. If the CaCO3 weighed 612 g and the CaO weighed 343 g, how many grams of CO2 were formed in the reaction?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the chemical reaction: \( \text{CaCO}_3 (s) \rightarrow \text{CaO} (s) + \text{CO}_2 (g) \).
2. Apply the law of conservation of mass, which states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
3. Calculate the mass of \( \text{CO}_2 \) formed by subtracting the mass of \( \text{CaO} \) from the mass of \( \text{CaCO}_3 \): \( \text{mass of CO}_2 = \text{mass of CaCO}_3 - \text{mass of CaO} \).
4. Substitute the given values into the equation: \( \text{mass of CO}_2 = 612 \text{ g} - 343 \text{ g} \).
5. Perform the subtraction to find the mass of \( \text{CO}_2 \) produced.

Key Concepts

Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships between the reactants and products in a chemical reaction. It allows chemists to predict the amounts of substances consumed and produced in a reaction based on balanced chemical equations. Understanding stoichiometry is essential for solving problems involving mass and moles in chemical reactions.

Conservation of Mass

The law of conservation of mass states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. This principle implies that the total mass of the reactants must equal the total mass of the products. In the context of the given reaction, this means that the mass of CaCO3 before heating must equal the combined mass of CaO and CO2 after the reaction.

Chemical Reaction Equation

A chemical reaction equation represents the reactants and products involved in a chemical reaction, showing their respective quantities. For the decomposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), the balanced equation is: CaCO3(s) → CaO(s) + CO2(g). This equation is crucial for understanding the relationship between the substances involved and for calculating the mass of products formed from given reactants.