A student weighs and then heats a petri dish of potassium carbonate. When heated, solid potassium carbonate breaks down into solid potassium oxide and carbon dioxide gas. The student notes that after heating, the mass of the solid decreases. How might a student explain the difference observed? A. Some of the mass left as a gas
B. The mass that was lost was converted to energy
C. Mass is not conserved in reactions that produce carbon dioxide
D. Some of the potassium carbonate evaporated when heated

It may seem as though burning destroys matter, but the same amount, or mass, of matter still exists after a campfire as before. Look at Figure 3.7.1 below. It shows that when wood burns, it combines with oxygen and changes not only to ashes, but also to carbon dioxide and water vapor. The gases float off into the air, leaving behind just the ashes. Suppose you had measured the mass of the wood before it burned and the mass of the ashes after it burned. Also suppose you had been able to measure the oxygen used by the fire and the gases produced by the fire. What would you find? The total mass of matter after the fire would be the same as the total mass of matter before the fire.

Explanation: