conservation of mass?

Question

6.When you burn a log in the fireplace, the resulting ashes have a mass less than that of the original log. Account for the difference in mass.

Answer 1

The mass that is consumed in the fire is given off as gasses and small particles that rise with the exhaust - CO, CO2, H2O vapor, small burning and unburned particulates and so forth. Einstein's famous E=MC2 has nothing to do with it - the mass of the log does not undergo any type of nuclear reaction and the sum of all of the combustion parts will indeed equal the original log.

Answer 2

e=mc^2