Question

Is wood burning a physical or chemical change?

Answer 1

Chemical change

Explanation:

New substances are formed when wood burns. Carbon-dioxide and vapors leave the wood, reducing it to ashes and carbon substances.

Answer 2

Chemical change is characterized by the formation of new substances...and the making and breaking of strong chemical bonds.

Explanation:

Here we got combustion of wood, the which we may treat as cellulose, i.e. `C_14H_26O_11`...and so we can represent its oxidation reaction....

`C_14H_26O_11(s) +15O_2(g)rarr14CO_2(g) + 13H_2O(l)+Delta`

Is this balanced with respect to mass and charge?

Given the stoichiometric reaction, strong chemical bonds have been broken and reformed, and new chemical substances, carbon dioxide, and water, have been formed. Ergo, this is a chemical change.