The law of conservation of mass or of matter, also known as the Lomonosov-Lavoisier law, states that the mass of substances

in a closed system will remain constant, no matter what processes are acting inside the system. It is a different way of stating that though matter may change form, it can be neither created nor destroyed. The mass of the reactants must always equal the mass of the products. This law works fine for anything that is not approaching the speed of light; at high speeds, mass begins transforming to energy (for which reason, we now have the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy). However, this means that in most situations the law of conservation of mass can be assumed valid. This law was first formulated by Antoine Lavoisier in 1789, but Mikhail Lomonosov in 1748 had also expressed similar ideas earlier. It was the key to making chemistry into a real science instead of an offshoot of alchemy; prior to this, buoyancy of gases made it difficult to determine before and after measurements of weight. After this, the ideas of chemical elements, process of fire and oxidation, and many other basic chemical principles could be understood. In nuclear reactions and in very large astronomical objects, this law becomes questionable.

E.g., 1.00g carbon + 5.34g sulphur ? 6.34g carbon disulphide and 2.00g carbon + 10.68g sulphur ? 12.68g carbon disulphide

Daltons Atomic Theory

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Daltons Atomic Theory can be summarized as follows:

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All matter is made up of small particles called atoms. Atoms cannot be subdivided Atoms can neither be created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. All atoms of the same element are identical in mass, size, and physical properties. The properties of the atoms of one element differ from those of all other elements Atoms combine in small whole number ratios to form compound

The Law of Constant Composition

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Established in 1799 by the French Chemist Joseph Louis Proust

States that in a pure compound, the elements are always present in the same definite proportion by mass.
E.g., H2O 2.0160g (2x1.0080) of hydrogen will combine with 15.9994g of oxygen to produce 18.0154g of H2O and 4.032 of hydrogen will combine with 31.988g of oxygen to produce 36.020g of H2O Ratio of H:O is always 2:16 or 1:8

The Law of Multiple Proportions, or Dalton's Law, is a primary law of stoichiometry. It states that if two elements form multiple compounds, the ratios of the masses of the second element combining with a fixed mass of the first elements will be in ratios of small whole numbers. For example, the oxygen compared between CO and CO2 has a simple 1:2 ratio; one oxygen in the first compound, two oxygen in the second compound. 100 grams of carbon will react with either 133 grams of oxygen to produce carbon monoxide, or with 266 grams of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide. This law, composed by John Dalton based on the law of definite proportions, was part of what laid the groundwork for his atomic theory, and for the basis of chemical formulas for compounds. Though the proportions can get quite complex, as with largehydrocarbon molecules, it holds true with great accuracy. Some numbers in large molecules get very large, but the ratios are always whole numbers to whole numbers.
Example Law of Multiple Proportions Problem Two different compounds are formed by the elements carbon and oxygen. The first compound contains 42.9% by mass carbon and 57.1% by mass oxygen. The second compound contains 27.3% by mass carbon and 72.7% by mass oxygen. Show that the data are consistent with the Law of Multiple Proportions. Solution The Law of Multiple Proportions is the third postulate of Dalton's atomic theory. It states that the masses of one element which combine with a fixed mass of the second element are in a ratio of whole numbers. Therefore, the masses of oxygen in the two compounds that combine with a fixed mass of carbon should be in a whole-number ratio. In 100 g of the first compound (100 is chosen to make calculations easier) there are 57.1 g O and 42.9 g C. The mass of O per gram C is:

57.1 g O / 42.9 g C = 1.33 g O per g C In the 100 g of the second compound, there are 72.7 g O and 27.3 g C. The mass of oxygen per gram of carbon is: 72.7 g O / 27.3 g C = 2.66 g O per g C Dividing the mass O per g C of the second (larger value) compound: 2.66 / 1.33 = 2 Which mean that the masses of oxygen that combine with carbon are in a 2:1 ratio. The whole-number ratio is consistent with the Law of Multiple Proportions.