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Paper is essentially a hydrocarbon, meaning its molecules are made from carbon and hydrogen (there may be some oxygen or other elements present, depending on the paper). The reaction of a hydrocarbon with oxygen is one type of combustion that most people just call "burning." The products of the combustion of any hydrocarbon are primarily carbon dioxide and water (in the form of steam). There's other products since air isn't purely oxygen and paper isn't purely hydrocarbons, but your most basic equation would be:

paper + oxygen --> carbon dioxide + steam

... or with symbols ...

a CxHy(s) + b O2(g) --> CO2(g) + d H2O(g)

... where a, b, c, and d are the stoichiometric coefficients, x and y are the specific composition of paper, and "(s)" means solid and "(g)" means gas.

For more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocarbon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion

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15y ago

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