Law of conservation of mass can be derived from which postulate of Dalton’s atomic theory?

The law of conservation of mass can be derived from Dalton's postulate that states "Atoms cannot be created, divided into smaller particles, nor destroyed in the chemical process; a chemical reaction simply changes the way atoms are grouped together."

Here's the step-by-step derivation:

1. Dalton's atomic theory postulates that atoms are indivisible and indestructible.
2. This means that in a chemical reaction, atoms are merely rearranged, not created or destroyed.
3. Therefore, the total mass of the reactants (the substances that start a chemical reaction) must equal the total mass of the products (the substances that are produced by the reaction).
4. This is essentially the law of conservation of mass, which states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction.
5. Therefore, the law of conservation of mass can be derived from this postulate of Dalton's atomic theory.