Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks which law of chemical combination dictates the necessity of balancing a chemical equation.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
The law of conservation of mass states that mass can neither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
• According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, formulated by Antoine Lavoisier, the total mass of the reactants must equal the total mass of the products in a closed system chemical reaction.
• At the atomic level, this means that the total number of atoms of each element must remain constant before and after the chemical change. No atoms are created, and no atoms are destroyed; they are simply rearranged.
• To mathematically represent this conservation in a written chemical equation, we must balance the equation by using coefficients.
• Balancing ensures that there is the exact same number of atoms of each element on both the reactant (left) side and the product (right) side of the equation.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Balancing of chemical equations is in accordance with the Law of Conservation of Mass.