Question

The molecules in straw are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Gold is made of gold atoms. Describe why straw cannot be turned into gold. In your answer, be sure to include what you have learned about chemical reactions, atoms and molecules, and reactants and products. Be as thorough as you can as you put together everything you have learned.

Answer 1

Answer:

See explanation

Explanation:

First of all we must remember the statement of Dalton's atomic theory that atoms can neither be created nor destroyed. Clearly, chemical reactions involves rearrangement of atoms of reactant and product molecules.

Since straw contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, it is obvious that there are no gold atoms in it.

If there are no gold atoms in straw, then straw can not be converted into gold by any chemical process because that implies that gold atoms are being 'created' in violation of Dalton's theory.