Mass changes when a reactant or product is a gas
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What the balance really measures

What the balance really measures

Three-panel comparison of a sealed flask with unchanged mass, an open crucible where oxygen enters and mass increases, and an open test tube where carbon dioxide escapes and mass decreases

A balance only measures the reacting chemicals and apparatus that are part of the system sitting on it. If a gas leaves that system or a gas from the air joins it, the reading can change. This is an apparent mass change, not a failure of conservation of mass.

Mass changes when a reactant or product is a gas Lesson

  1. GCSE
  2. /Chemistry
  3. /Mass changes when a reactant or product is a gas