February 19

Conservation of Mass & Balancing Chemical Equations 🔬

📅 What We Did in Class:
Today, we covered The Law of Conservation of Mass and practiced balancing chemical equations using step-by-step examples.

📝 Part 1: Notes on the Law of Conservation of Mass

• The Law of Conservation of Mass states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.

• Atoms rearrange to form new substances, but the total number of atoms remains the same before and after a reaction.

• We use chemical equations to represent these reactions, ensuring they are balanced (same number of atoms on both sides of the equation).

⚖️ Part 2: Balancing Chemical Equations

We went through a step-by-step process to balance equations:
✅ Step 1: Count the number of atoms for each element on both sides of the equation.
✅ Step 2: Add coefficients to balance the number of atoms (subscripts cannot be changed).
✅ Step 3: Double-check to ensure the equation is balanced and follows the Law of Conservation of Mass.

🔬 Practice Example:

We worked through balancing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) into water and oxygen:

Unbalanced:
H₂O₂ → H₂O + O₂

Balanced:
2H₂O₂ → 2H₂O + O₂

We identified observable signs of a chemical reaction, such as:
💨 Gas formation (bubbles)
💡 Color changes
🔥 Temperature changes

📌 Why This Matters:

Balancing equations is essential for understanding how chemical reactions work and ensures that mass is conserved in every reaction, from photosynthesis to combustion.

💡 Great job practicing these important chemistry skills! Keep reviewing how to balance equations—you'll see them often in future lessons! ⚛️✨