Boxi Learn › Chemistry › Stage 3 · Structure and Evidence
Atoms are rearranged, never lost
CHEM-1 Atoms are rearranged, never lostX-1 Guess, then checkX-2 Evidence outweighs opinion
What many people think
Burning makes matter disappear; mass is lost in reactions.
The idea
In a reaction atoms regroup into new molecules; the count of each kind of atom, and so the mass, stays the same.
Explain it
A rusty nail weighs more than the same nail before it rusted. Use atoms to explain where the extra mass came from.
Try at home
Put a spoon of baking soda in a bottle, put vinegar in a balloon and stretch it over the mouth. Weigh, tip the vinegar in, weigh again. Then repeat without the balloon.