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SYLLABUS

There is a scientific law called the Law of Conservation of Mass, discovered by Antoine Lavoisier in 1785. In its most compact form, it states:

matter is neither created nor destroyed.

In 1842, Julius Robert Mayer discovered the Law of Conservation of Energy. In its most compact form, it it now called the First Law of Thermodynamics:

energy is neither created nor destroyed.

In the early 20th century, Albert Einstein announced his discovery of the equation E=mc²and, as a consequence, the two laws above were merged into the Law of Conservation of Mass-Energy:

the total amount of mass and energy in the universe is constant.

What does this mean to us? Well, these laws allow us to balance chemical equations, calculate product amounts and determine whether reactions will be spontaneous or not.

In this experiment, we will test the validity of the Law of Conservation of Mass by observing a reaction of copper II chloride and zinc metals in aqueous HCl. The reaction can be monitored by orbserving the leaching of copper from the solution (loss of blue color)and the production of hydrogen gas.