\(1.7 \mathrm{~g}\) of silver nitrate dissolved in \(100 \mathrm{~g}\) of water is taken. \(0.585 \mathrm{~g}\) of sodium chloride dissolved in \(100 \mathrm{~g}\) of water is added to it and chemical reaction occurs. \(1.435 \mathrm{~g}\) of silver chloride and \(0.85 \mathrm{~g}\) of sodium nitrate are formed. Justify that the data obey law of conservation of mass.

At the heart of chemistry lies the study of chemical reactions, which are processes that involve the transformation of one set of chemical substances into another. These transformations occur as a result of the breaking and forming of chemical bonds, leading to the creation of new products from the initial reactants.

For instance, when silver nitrate reacts with sodium chloride, the ions recombine to form new compounds: silver chloride and sodium nitrate. This specific type of chemical reaction is known as a double displacement reaction, characterized by the exchange of ions between two reactant compounds.

It's fundamental for learners to recognize the signs of a chemical reaction, which can include color change, temperature change, the formation of a precipitate, or the production of gas. In the provided exercise, the formation of silver chloride, a solid precipitate, is a clear indicator that a chemical reaction has occurred.

Stoichiometry is an area of chemistry that addresses the quantitative relationships between reactants and products in a chemical reaction. It is based on the balanced chemical equation that describes the reaction, and it requires a thorough understanding of moles, molar masses, and Avogadro's number.

For the reaction between silver nitrate and sodium chloride, the stoichiometry dictates how much of each reactant is needed and how much of each product is formed. It's a balancing act governed by the coefficients of the balanced equation, which are proportionate to the number of moles in the reaction.

In practice, stoichiometry can be applied to calculate the mass of reactants required to produce a desired amount of product or to determine the yield from a given amount of reactants. This is particularly useful in industries where chemical reactions must be scaled up from laboratory to production levels.

The law of conservation of mass is a fundamental principle that stipulates that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. Thus, reaction mass calculations provide a way to validate this by ensuring that the combined mass of the reactants is equal to the mass of the products.

In our exercise, by adding the mass of the silver nitrate and sodium chloride, we calculate the total initial mass before the reaction. After the reaction, we do the same with the newly formed silver chloride and sodium nitrate. If the two totals are equal, the law of conservation of mass is upheld in the reaction. This kind of accounting is crucial not only in academic exercises but also across various practical applications such as chemical engineering and materials sciences, where precise measurements are essential.

For those struggling with these calculations, it may help to visualize the process as similar to balancing a ledger in accounting - what goes in must come out, so to speak. Adding visualization tools like diagrams or models can often aid in comprehending these stoichiometric relationships and the conservation principle.