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Conservation of mass

AQA GCSE Chemistry calculation · part of the free Calculation Climb

In a reaction no atoms are created or destroyed, so the total mass of reactants = total mass of products. Use it to find a missing mass.

How to do it — step by step

  1. Add up the masses you know on each side.
  2. The missing mass is whatever makes both sides equal.

Worked example

10 g of calcium carbonate → calcium oxide + 4.4 g of carbon dioxide.
Mass of calcium oxide = 10 − 4.4 = 5.6 g

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More AQA GCSE Chemistry calculations

Relative formula mass (Mr)Percentage by massMoles ⇄ massReacting massesPercentage yieldAtom economyConcentration (g/dm³)Concentration (mol/dm³)