A balanced chemical equation obeys the law of

A balanced chemical equation obeys the law of conservation of mass. This means that in a chemical reaction, the total mass of the reactants must be equal to the total mass of the products. In other words, atoms cannot be created or destroyed during a chemical reaction, only rearranged. For example, if we burn a piece of wood, the mass of the ashes and the gases released will be equal to the mass of the original wood. This is because the atoms in the wood (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, etc.) are rearranged during the burning process to form new molecules, but the total number of atoms remains the same. By balancing a chemical equation, we ensure that the same number and type of atoms are present on both sides of the equation, which satisfies the law of conservation of mass.