Conservation of Mass in Chemical Reactions
Ever wonder why your chemistry teacher is obsessed with balanced equations? It's because of one fundamental rule that governs everything in chemistry: conservation of mass.
When you're dealing with physical changes like melting ice or crushing a can, you're not creating any new substances - just changing how they look. These changes are reversible, so you can freeze water back into ice or reshape that can (theoretically!).
Chemical changes are completely different. Here, atoms get rearranged to form entirely new substances. Think burning wood or baking a cake - you can't undo these reactions easily.
The conservation of mass principle states that the total mass of reactants must equal the total mass of products. Nothing gets lost in the shuffle - atoms just rearrange themselves into new combinations.
Quick tip: If you're working with gases as reactants or products, the mass of your container might appear to change because gases can escape or be absorbed from the air around you!