Question

if the law of conservation says that matter (stuff) is conserved (protected/kept), and if we start with 4 brown marshmallows and 6 red marshmallows, how many marshmallows should we end with? 6 4 10

Explanation:

Step1: Understand the law of conservation

The law of conservation of matter states that matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction (or in this simple marshmallow - counting case, the total number of marshmallows remains the same).

Step2: Calculate the initial number of marshmallows

We have \(4\) brown marshmallows and \(6\) red marshmallows. The total number of initial marshmallows is \(4 + 6\).
Using the addition formula \(a + b\), where \(a = 4\) and \(b=6\), we get \(4+6=\frac{4\times1 + 6\times1}{1}=10\).

Answer:

10