Question

1. in the following chemical equation - label the reactants and products. ch4 + 2o2 → co2 + 2h2o
2. how many molecules of each of the following are in the equation above? ch4 - o2 - co2 - h2o -
3. how is the conservation of matter shown in a chemical equation? pick a molecule in the formula above to use as an example in your explanation.

Explanation:

Step1: Identify reactants and products

In a chemical equation, reactants are on the left - hand side and products on the right - hand side.
Reactants: $CH_4, 2O_2$; Products: $CO_2, 2H_2O$

Step2: Determine number of molecules

The coefficient in front of a chemical formula represents the number of molecules. If there is no coefficient, it is 1.
$CH_4$: 1 molecule; $O_2$: 2 molecules; $CO_2$: 1 molecule; $H_2O$: 2 molecules

Step3: Explain conservation of matter

Conservation of matter means the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation. For example, for carbon ($C$), there is 1 carbon atom in $CH_4$ on the reactant side and 1 carbon atom in $CO_2$ on the product side.

Answer:

1. Reactants: $CH_4, 2O_2$; Products: $CO_2, 2H_2O$
2. $CH_4$: 1 molecule; $O_2$: 2 molecules; $CO_2$: 1 molecule; $H_2O$: 2 molecules
3. Conservation of matter is shown as the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation. For carbon, there is 1 carbon atom in $CH_4$ (reactant) and 1 carbon atom in $CO_2$ (product).