Question

When you burn a birthday candle, you may wonder whether the fire you see is matter. The flame consists of hot glowing gases, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and parts of the candle that have been vaporized. The heat and light given off are forms of energy. The smoke contains ash and unburned particles.

a. Three things that are matter: Oxygen, carbon dioxide, candle particles.
b. Three things that are not matter: Heat, light, water vapor.

Answer 1

The mass of matter remains constant during the burning of a candle due to the Law of Conservation of Mass, with the solid wax transforming into gaseous products and energy being released as heat and light.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a birthday candle burns, various processes take place and substances transform, but the total mass of matter remains constant due to the Law of Conservation of Mass. This law states that matter is neither created nor destroyed during chemical reactions like combustion. In the case of burning wood or a candle, the matter changes from solid wax to gaseous products such as carbon dioxide and water vapor. These gases join the atmosphere, while the heat and light produced during combustion are forms of energy, not matter. If we were to measure the total mass of the wood or candle wax before burning and then measure the mass of the ashes, and the gases produced (assuming we could capture them), we would find that the total mass of these products equals the mass of the original material plus the oxygen that was consumed.