A scientist burns a newspaper completely to ash. How does the newspaper's initial mass compare to the total mass of the ashes and the gases released from burning the newspaper? (1 point)

Question

A scientist burns a newspaper completely to ash. How does the newspaper's initial mass compare to the total mass of the ashes and the gases released from burning the newspaper? (1 point)
The newspaper's initial mass will be half of the total mass of the ashes and the gases released
The newspaper's initial mass will equal the total mass of the ashes and the gases released
The newspaper's initial mass will be double the total mass of the ashes and the gases released
The newspaper's initial mass will be one-fourth of the total mass of the ashes and the gases released

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The correct statement is: **The newspaper's initial mass will equal the total mass of the ashes and the gases released.** This is based on the principle of conservation of mass, which states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. Therefore, the total mass of the system (initial mass of the newspaper) will be conserved and equal to the combined mass of the ashes and the gases produced during combustion.