Laws of Matter
Laws of Matter
The ancient Greeks first proposed the idea that the total amount of matter in the universe
is constant. However, Antoine Lavoisier described the law of conservation of mass (or the
principle of mass/matter conservation) as a fundamental principle of physics in 1789.
This law states that, despite chemical reactions or physical transformations, mass is
conserved — that is, it cannot be created or destroyed — within an isolated system. In
other words, in a chemical reaction, the mass of the products will always be equal to the
mass of the reactants.
In 1806, Proust summarized his observations in what is now called Proust’s Law.
It stated that chemical compounds are formed of constant and defined ratios of
elements, as determined by mass. For example, carbon dioxide is composed of one
carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. Therefore, by mass, carbon dioxide can be described
by the fixed ratio of 12 (mass of carbon):32 (mass of oxygen), or simplified as 3:8.
At the time, Proust’s theory was a controversial one and disputed by a number of chemists,
most notably another French chemist, Claude Louis Berthollet. Berthollet supported the
concept that elements could mix in any ratio. However, the English chemist John Dalton’s
formulation of atomic theory supported Proust’s idea at an atomic level, as Dalton
proposed that chemical compounds were composed of set formulations of atoms from
different elements. Dalton’s law of multiple proportions expanded on the law of definite
composition to postulate that, in situations in which elements can combine to form
multiple combinations, the ratio of the elements in those compounds can be expressed as
small whole numbers.
Law of multiple proportions
The statement that when two elements combine with each other to form more than
one compound, the weights of one element that combine with a fixed weight of the
other are in a ratio of small whole numbers. For example, there are five distinct oxides
of nitrogen, and the weights of oxygen in combination with 14 grams of nitrogen are, in
increasing order, 8, 16, 24, 32, and 40 grams, or in a ratio of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
The law was announced (1803) by the English chemist John Dalton, and its confirmation
for a wide range of compounds served as the most powerful argument in support of
Dalton’s theory that matter consists of indivisible atoms.
Dalton's theory
Dalton based his theory on two laws: the law of conservation of mass and the law of
constant composition.
The law of conservation of mass says that matter is not created or destroyed in a
closed system. That means if we have a chemical reaction, the amount of each element
must be the same in the starting materials and the products. We use the law of
conservation of mass every time we balance equations!
Dalton hypothesized that the law of conservation of mass and the law of definite
proportions could be explained using the idea of atoms. He proposed that all matter is
made of tiny indivisible particles called atoms, which he imagined as "solid, massy, hard,
impenetrable, movable particle(s)".
2. All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties.
Dalton proposed that every single atom of an element, such as gold, is the same as every
other atom of that element. He also noted that the atoms of one element differ from the
atoms of all other elements. Today, we still know this to be mostly true. A sodium atom is
different from a carbon atom. Elements may share some similar boiling points, melting
points, and electronegativities, but no two elements have the same exact set of properties.
In the third part of Dalton's atomic theory, he proposed that compounds are combinations
of two or more different types of atoms. An example of such a compound is table salt.
Table salt is a combination of two separate elements with unique physical and chemical
properties. The first, sodium, is a highly reactive metal. The second, chlorine, is a toxic gas.
When they react, the atoms combine in a 1:1 ratio to form white crystals
of \text{NaCl}NaClstart text, N, a, C, l, end text, which we can sprinkle on our food.
4. A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms.
In the fourth and final part of Dalton's atomic theory, he suggested that chemical reactions
don't destroy or create atoms. They merely rearranged the atoms. Using our salt example
again, when sodium combines with chlorine to make salt, both the sodium and chlorine
atoms still exist. They simply rearrange to form a new compound.
REFERENCE:
General Chemistry 1 = Ilao, Luciana V.: Lontoc, Betty M.; Paderna-Gayon, Edwehna Elinore S.
Conservation of Matter = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvbX8PitSpg
Law of Conservation of Mass = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S6e11NBwiw
Law of Definite Composition= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1n-vNmt3uw&t=53s
Law of Multilpe Proportion= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTI06JYcwgA&t=144s
Daltons Atomic Theory=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ-6Qy05u_Q&t=96s