Read the excerpt and then answer the question: When we burn something—whether it is a log, a match, or the gasoline in our gas tank—what we are actually doing is causing a chemical reaction. Burning gasoline may not seem like the kinds of chemical reactions that you have seen before. After all, chemical reactions cause substances to change into other substances as the atoms of the reactants rearrange to form the products. When gasoline burns, it doesn’t seem to change into a different substance. Instead, it seems to disappear, leaving you with an empty tank. If burning gasoline actually causes a chemical reaction to happen, then why doesn’t your tank fill up with a different substance? Can a chemical reaction cause something to change into nothing?

Which of the following is the best explanation for what happens to the atoms that were once present in the tank of gas?

The atoms were destroyed to create energy to power the car
The atoms were destroyed to create energy to power the car

The atoms of gasoline rearranged into a colorless gas
The atoms of gasoline rearranged into a colorless gas

The atoms from the gasoline are now a part of the car
The atoms from the gasoline are now a part of the car

Some of the atoms from the gasoline were destroyed and some rearranged to another substance
Some of the atoms from the gasoline were destroyed and some rearranged to another substance