Law of Conservation of Mass

[Zierro]

How does this apply to a growing flower? Does the sunlight act as 'matter' or something? I remember hearing someone propose that light is really a form of matter but I'm not too sure about that. Sorry, I'm not into science much and this just really bugs me. :-#

[Sam]

Sounds all very philisophical to me :lol:

[Rebdragon]

Enegy can be converted to mass and vice versa, but in the case of a growing flower the solar energy is used for converting nutrients/matter in the ground (and air) into bio-material for growth (you know, sugars and atp and all that whatnot). There's nowhere near enough energy hitting that plant to simply make the matter that composes a flower out of it.

[eggzs]

e=mc^2 shows that energy can be made from mass. In respiration in plants however, the formula is:

 

6H2O+6CO2->6C6H12O6+6O2 with sunlight and chlorophyll being essential however they act more like catalysts, not reagents.

[Sam]

^now I'm confused #-o

[Quoi_Tu]

There is no flower. Nothing is real and not real.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buddha knows best. For more, read the Diamond Sutra.

[fastortoise]

Enegy can be converted to mass and vice versa, but in the case of a growing flower the solar energy is used for converting nutrients/matter in the ground (and air) into bio-material for growth (you know, sugars and atp and all that whatnot). There's nowhere near enough energy hitting that plant to simply make the matter that composes a flower out of it.

 

Pretty much. The rest of this topic's replies are basically going to be about people not understanding Reb's post

[eggzs]

^now I'm confused #-o

 

 

 

It's basic IGCSE Biology, if not simpler.

[anonymous1234]

Geez I'm in 9th grade and I know this. Its the CO2 in the air and water from the ground that eventually get converted into starches and fibres during photosynthesis. Reb summed it up nicely but I just wanted to add on to that :D

 

 

 

Edit: Zierro is 17 but hasn't taken biology yet? :| That can't be

[Stilev]

the light in photosynthesis isn't used for making matter. light is absorbed by P680 It used for excites an election form H2O to Pheophytin, and there are more steps until it makes NADPH this process is the Light Reaction. NADPH goes into the Calvin Cycle through 6 steps you end up making Glucose. you'd have to know about complex biology in order to understand it all the things exactly.

 

 

 

basically: NO MATTER IS CREATED. THE LIGHT IS AN ENERGY SOURCE FOR REARRANGING THE ATOMS (or matter)

 

 

 

the mass comes from the nutrients in the soil, a majority of a plants mass is Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Potassium and Water, alot of water.

[Zierro]

Edit: Zierro is 17 but hasn't taken biology yet? :| That can't be

 

 

 

I took Biology and even Chemistry but we learned nothing about how this law applies to biological growth. Not in our class at least unless I missed school that day or something.

[anonymous1234]

Edit: Zierro is 17 but hasn't taken biology yet? :| That can't be

 

 

 

I took Biology and even Chemistry but we learned nothing about how this law applies to biological growth. Not in our class at least unless I missed school that day or something.

 

Could be. Once a couple weeks ago I missed a day of bio and it felt like I was away for a week. Luckily our whole lesson was basically in the textbook.

the light in photosynthesis isn't used for making matter. light is absorbed by P680 It used for excites an election form H2O to Pheophytin, and there are more steps until it makes NADPH this process is the Light Reaction. NADPH goes into the Calvin Cycle through 6 steps you end up making Glucose. you'd have to know about complex biology in order to understand it all the things exactly.

 

 

 

basically: NO MATTER IS CREATED. THE LIGHT IS AN ENERGY SOURCE FOR REARRANGING THE ATOMS (or matter)

 

 

 

the mass comes from the nutrients in the soil, a majority of a plants mass is Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Potassium and Water, alot of water.

Once again, not complex biology. I don't take AP biology, just regular biology, and I basically learned exactly what you explained (including P680 and the Calvin cycle.)

[warri0r45]

How does this apply to a growing flower? Does the sunlight act as 'matter' or something? I remember hearing someone propose that light is really a form of matter but I'm not too sure about that. Sorry, I'm not into science much and this just really bugs me. :-#

 

 

 

Others have beat me to it, but the matter basically comes from water and nutrients (in the soil) and CO2 (in the air). The sunlight only acts as an energy source to drive photosynthesis so the plant can turn H2O and CO2 into sugars. From there it's metabolism can form amino acids, fatty acids and nucleic acids with nitrogen coming from the soil.

 

 

 

The whole process is perfectly consistent with natural laws of conservation of matter/energy and thermodynamics.

[Boris5000]

Where does all the fat go from fat people when they diet/become healthy...

 

Seriously, where... I want to go to this place of fat...

[Giordano]

It's kinda like human beings. We grow because we eat. The plants grow because it gets nutrients from the ground and light n' such.

[Nom]

Where does all the fat go from fat people when they diet/become healthy...

 

Seriously, where... I want to go to this place of fat...

 

 

 

It's used up when they excercise and not replaced when they stop eating poorly :| Have fun becoming fuel for a fat person doing finger presses.

[Saru Inc]

God I hate Biology. It's interesting, yet sooo boring.

 

 

 

What Reb said basically.

[Cyco_Reborn]

I've always presumed the ultra-violet radiation from the sunlight alters the structure of some of the chemicals in the chlorophyll, which turns it into something usable. It's not conversion of mass anyway, it's conversion of energy, otherwise the earth would be like 60 tonnes heavier every day.

[eggzs]

Where does all the fat go from fat people when they diet/become healthy...

 

Seriously, where... I want to go to this place of fat...

 

 

 

It is oxidised to provide energy so you can move your muscles etc. and to keep a constant body temperature of ~37C

[warri0r45]

I've always presumed the ultra-violet radiation from the sunlight alters the structure of some of the chemicals in the chlorophyll, which turns it into something usable. It's not conversion of mass anyway, it's conversion of energy, otherwise the earth would be like 60 tonnes heavier every day.

 

 

 

It's the visible range of the spectrum that's used by chlorophyll in photosynthesis. Generally speaking, it absorbs non-green wavelengths well (red and violet particularly, I think) and as a result emits green light.

 

 

 

UV light is just energetic enough to mutate DNA, which is generally disastrous for any organism.

[Cyco_Reborn]

UV light is just energetic enough to mutate DNA, which is generally disastrous for any organism.

 

So I'm confusing Photosynthesis with Skin Cancer?

[Lenticular_J]

Stupid laws. I want to break the law. Ever since fourth grade or so, I've made it a goal out of life to create something out of nothing. The universe only follows laws worse when you apply them. Thus. I SHALL.

[Shinjula]

Just cos it hasnt been stressed enough ill mention this again, there is no such thing as a law of conservation of mass.

 

 

 

And the main thing i think you want to know in the simplest terms is that the sugars (which are pretty much the building blocks and made from carbon hydrogen and oxygen atoms) come from carbon dioxide (carbon and oxygen) and water (hydrogen and oxygen).

 

 

 

More complex stuff is made with the inclusion of the nutrients they take from the ground which include stuff like nitrogen and phosphorus.

 

(Someone correct me if I'm wrong please, but be aware im trying to massively simplify for the easiest overall picture)

[warri0r45]

Just cos it hasnt been stressed enough ill mention this again, there is no such thing as a law of conservation of mass.

 

 

 

And the main thing i think you want to know in the simplest terms is that the sugars (which are pretty much the building blocks and made from carbon hydrogen and oxygen atoms) come from carbon dioxide (carbon and oxygen) and water (hydrogen and oxygen).

 

 

 

More complex stuff is made with the inclusion of the nutrients they take from the ground which include stuff like nitrogen and phosphorus.

 

(Someone correct me if I'm wrong please, but be aware im trying to massively simplify for the easiest overall picture)

 

 

 

Really?

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_mass

 

 

 

It would make sense to say that conservation of mass holds in a closed system. As it applies to the science of chemistry, it basically means that the mass of products equals the mass of reactants. Are you looking at it from a different perspective?

[Shinjula]

An important part in the paragraph on generalization is...

 

 

 

>>>The principle that the mass of a system of particles is equal to the sum of their rest masses, even though true in classical physics, is false in special relativity.

 

 

 

energy/mass is conserved, mass isnt conserved.