Franklin was performing an experiment by combining hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide. He measured the mass of his reactant materials to be 35g. The reaction resulted in the production of salt and water. He reported that his products weighed 32g. Which best describes the results of Franklin’s experiment? No error occurred, some of the products are always lost as heat. An error occurred, the mass of the reactants should equal the mass of the products. An error occurred, the products should weigh more than the reactants. No error occurred, water is not weighed when determining the weight of the products.

B) an error occurred, the mass of the reactants should equal the mass of the products.

Explanation:

The answer choices are:

A) no error occurred, some of the products are always lost as heat.

B) an error occurred, the mass of the reactants should equal the mass of the products.

C) an error occurred, the products should weigh more than the reactants.

D) no error occurred, water is not weighed when determining the weight of the products.

Solution

The basis to answer this question is the law of conservation of mass.

Any chemical reaction satisfies the law of conservation of mass: mass cannot be either created nor destroyed, so, always, the mass of the reactants equal the mass of the products.

Thus, since he measured the mass of his reactant materials to be 35g and he reported that his products weighed 32g, his data are in clear contradiction of the law of conservation of mass. So, there is an error in his results: the mass of the reactants should equal the mass of the products.

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