Question

Justin Bleeber is a lazy young man and decides to burn a pile of leaves instead of bagging it. The pile of leaves weighed three pounds before being burned. After the leaves are burned the leftover ash weighs half a pound. What happened to the rest of the mass of the leaves? A) It was destroyed. B) It soaked into the ground. C) It compacted into the ash. D) It was turned into smoke and gas.

Answer 1

Its D. Because the rest of the mass turned to gas

Answer 2

Answer is: D) It was turned into smoke and gas.

Conservation of mass (mass is never lost or gained in chemical reactions), during chemical reaction no particles are created or destroyed, the atoms are rearranged from the reactants to the products.

Gas that escaped is probably carbon(IV) oxide and little carbon(II) oxide, so the mass of product measured is less than reactants.

If mass of gas is also measured, masses of reactants and products are the same.