Mass Conservation in Chemical Reactions

AI Thread Summary
In the discussion, the key focus is on the conservation of mass during chemical reactions and the source of energy released. It is established that mass is conserved in chemical reactions, with energy changes arising from the redistribution of electrons among atoms, leading to different energy levels. Although mass and energy are conserved together, in exothermic reactions, the mass of the products is slightly less than that of the reactants after cooling. This change is minimal, allowing for the assumption of mass conservation in practical scenarios. The conversation highlights the relationship between mass, energy, and the underlying electromagnetic forces involved in chemical reactions.
WhiteRhasta
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I realize that to calculate heat being released and contained during nuclear reaction you must understand the difference between its product mass and reactant mass by using *E=mc2.* My Question pertains to the heat being released during a chemical reaction... Is Mass conserved in this chemical reaction? , and if so where is its energy coming from?
 
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Welcome to PF!

WhiteRhasta said:
Is Mass conserved in this chemical reaction? , and if so where is its energy coming from?

Hi WhiteRhasta ! Welcome to PF! :smile:

Mass is conserved in chemical reactions.

The energy differences result from the electrons being "shared" by different atoms, and therefore being in orbits with different energy levels …

but all the energies are electromagnetic. :smile:
 
Mass _and_ energy are conserved together. So in the case of exothermical chemical reaction mass of products (after cooling) will be smaller then mass of reactants. However, change in the mass is so small, that we can safely treat it as if it is mass conservation only.
 
Thanks tiny - tim, and Borek very much for that. That will surely assist me with an experiment I am conducting... Its nice to be a part of the physics community...
 

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