When 4.2 g of sodium bicarbonate are added to a solution of acetic acid weighing 10.0 g, it is observed that 2.2 g of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. The residue left is found to weigh 12.0 g. Show that these observations are in agreement with the law of conservation of mass.

Explanation

To show that the observations are in agreement with the law of conservation of mass, we will follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the masses of the reactants
We have two reactants in this reaction:
- Mass of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) = 4.2 g
- Mass of acetic acid (CH₃COOH) = 10.0 g

**Total mass of reactants** = Mass of sodium bicarbonate + Mass of acetic acid
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