what is a creative lab proving conservation of mass?

Arden Strachn: What do you mean by "conservation of mass"?Einstein thought Energy = Mass x C (speed of light) squared.guess what, the atomic bomb really did go BANG! And a very loud Bang at that.Given your equipment you might ask? if the alka-seltzer goes in the water what happens?Where do the bubbles go, how could you catch them all and how would you weigh them.remember you are in class to learn, do your own work and only ask for help when you rally do not understand....Show more

Ramon Dahlheimer: Conservation of mass is a tough thing to 'prove' - though you could put together an interesting demonstration. Using alka-seltzer and water, I assume the idea is to dissolve a lot of it and see that even after it all dissovled the mass of the system is the same as the inputs. Clearly the gas has a mass, though I'd be surprised if it's mass were measurable using a triple beam balance (but I'll assume it can be).Run two experiments. Put a beaker of water and a pill or tw! o of alka-seltzer next to the beaker on the balance and figure out how much it all weighs. Then move the pills into the water and after the reaction is over, see if the mass changed. Assuming it would (losing gas from system) you have a baseline for the amount of change you'd expect.For the second experiment, either add a balloon (or rubber glove) to the setup. Find how much everything weighs to begin with, then put the tablets into the water, cover the top of the beaker with the rubber and then watch as the pills dissolve but the mass remains constant. Could also do this in a soda bottle - but the seltzer may not dissolve once the bottle gets pressurized (or it may go bang!).Sounds like fun either way....Show more