Law of Conservation of Mass (1785)

The Law of Conservation of Mass, proposed by Antoine Lavoisier in 1785, states that in a closed system, the mass of the reactants must equal the mass of the products for any chemical reaction.

This principle emphasizes the fundamental idea that matter is neither created nor destroyed during a chemical reaction, but only rearranged.

Lavoisier's meticulous experiments with combustion and chemical reactions provided strong evidence for this law, helping to establish the foundations of modern chemistry.

The Law of Conservation of Mass is a cornerstone of chemical calculations and is essential in understanding the quantitative aspects of chemical reactions and the formulation of chemical equations.