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

Responses

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 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 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 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

Answer 1

The correct response 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 is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. During the burning process, the mass of the original newspaper is transformed into other forms (ash and gases), but the total mass remains the same. The mass of the ashes plus the mass of the gases will equal the initial mass of the newspaper.