Question

products and reactants in a balanced chemical reaction have the same number of ______ of each element. a atoms b molecules if the equation on the board had shown 3 atoms of carbon on the reactants side, how many atoms of carbon would need to be represented on the products side? a 2 b

Explanation:

1. For the first question, the law of conservation of mass dictates that in a balanced chemical equation, the number of atoms of each element is equal on both reactant and product sides; molecules can differ in count.
2. For the second question, applying the same conservation law, the number of carbon atoms on the product side must match the 3 on the reactant side.

Answer:

1. A. atoms
2. 3