Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Conservation of mass states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in any chemical reaction. It remains constant before and after the reaction takes place.
Related terms
Law of Conservation of Energy/Mass-Energy Equivalence (E=mc²): States that energy/mass cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only change forms.
Chemical Reaction/Equation: A process that rearranges atoms to form new substances, while conserving mass.
Stoichiometry: The calculation of reactants and products in a chemical reaction based on the law of conservation of mass.