a scientist burns a newspaper completely to ash. how does the newspaper initial mass compare to the total mass of the ashes and the gases released from burning the newspaper?

The initial mass of the newspaper is equal to the total mass of the ashes and gases released from burning the newspaper. This is due to the principle of conservation of mass, which states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction, only transformed into different forms. Therefore, the total mass of the ash and gases released will be equal to the initial mass of the newspaper.