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Hi there! I am Studyfin, your tutor. Let's explore how plants use chemistry to build food without losing a single atom!
Have you ever wondered how plants grow so large just from water, air, and sunlight? They use a process called photosynthesis to rearrange basic ingredients into food. In any chemical reaction, no matter how much things change, the total mass stays exactly the same.
This rule is the Law of Conservation of Mass. It means atoms are never created or destroyed. Instead, the chemical equation shows how the starting ingredients, or reactants, break their bonds and rearrange into new products.
Let's look at the chemical equation for photosynthesis. Six carbon dioxide molecules and six water molecules react to make one glucose sugar molecule and six oxygen molecules. If you count every single atom on both sides, you will find they match perfectly.
Analyze the chemical equation for photosynthesis: 6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6 O₂. Prove that mass is conserved by counting and comparing the atoms of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) before and after the reaction.
- Identify the reactants on the left side: 6 molecules of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and 6 molecules of Water (H₂O).
- Count the reactant atoms: Carbon has 6 * 1 = 6 atoms. Hydrogen has 6 * 2 = 12 atoms. Oxygen has (6 * 2) + (6 * 1) = 18 atoms.
- Identify the products on the right side: 1 molecule of Glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) and 6 molecules of Oxygen gas (O₂).
- Count the product atoms: Carbon has 6 * 1 = 6 atoms. Hydrogen has 12 * 1 = 12 atoms. Oxygen has 6 + (6 * 2) = 18 atoms.
- Compare the counts: Both sides have exactly 6 Carbon, 12 Hydrogen, and 18 Oxygen atoms. Since the atom counts match, no mass was lost or gained!
