One really easy way of proving how this law works is to find something that you are able to burn. It could just be something like a piece of paper. The paper will then need to be burned so that it has turned completely into ash. To the observer it will appear that the paper, the matter, has been lost. The burnt item was not destroyed, however, as if you were able to collect everything that was produced during the process of burning, you would see that the matter was still there.
If you were to go about collecting all of the gases that were expelled during the burning and then weigh the item, you would find that the weight or mass of the gas and the ash that was produced would be the same as the weight of the oxygen that was consumed through the burning or 'oxidation' process. The weight of the original item would be the same, too, meaning that matter will not have been destroyed. Instead, the matter will simply have been changed into a completely different form.
Burn something completely to ash, it appears as if matter was lost, the burnt item was destroyed, but if you collected the gases expelled and weighed them, the weight of the gas and ash produced would equal the weight of the oxygen consumed in the burning/oxidation and the weight of the original item so the matter wasn't destroyed, it merely changed to a different form -- most of the solid matter became gaseous matter.
If you were to go about collecting all of the gases that were expelled during the burning and then weigh the item, you would find that the weight or mass of the gas and the ash that was produced would be the same as the weight of the oxygen that was consumed through the burning or 'oxidation' process. The weight of the original item would be the same, too, meaning that matter will not have been destroyed. Instead, the matter will simply have been changed into a completely different form.
Burn something completely to ash, it appears as if matter was lost, the burnt item was destroyed, but if you collected the gases expelled and weighed them, the weight of the gas and ash produced would equal the weight of the oxygen consumed in the burning/oxidation and the weight of the original item so the matter wasn't destroyed, it merely changed to a different form -- most of the solid matter became gaseous matter.
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