Research Question:
How does the change in volume of air (170 ml, 350 ml, 650 ml, 1260 ml) at the set
temperature (20°C) affect the time of combustion of the candle measured in time (S)?
Background Research:
[Link]
Combustion is a kind of violent chemical reaction that emits heat and light. Usually,
combustion usually involves the participation of oxygen, but in some special cases
combustion can be carried out under oxygen-free conditions, such as the combustion of
hydrogen in chlorine gas. This chemical reaction releases heat, light and new substances such
as CO2 and H2O through a rapid exothermic and luminous oxidation reaction of combustible
materials with oxygen, and releases energy in the form of a flame. Also the fuel can be in any
form, including solid, liquid and gas.
[Link] equation of combustion
The basic chemical equation for combustion can be written (when the fuel is wax) the formula
is:
C25H52 + 38O2 =burning 25CO2 + 26H2O
3. Main components of waxes
The main components of waxes are fatty acids and long-chain hydrocarbons and esters. The
essence of wax is lipid. At room temperature, wax is a lustrous solid, chemically inactive,
more stable than grease, difficult to be saponified, not easily oxidized in the air, and not easily
deteriorated.
[Link] component of air
Air is made up of Water vapour, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, Smoke and dust particles.
When you blow out a burning candle, you will notice that it goes out. This means that the air also
contains gases that do not support combustion. This is mainly due to the presence of nitrogen.
Nitrogen makes up nearly 78% of the earth's atmosphere and it is also the most abundant gas on
earth. The reason why candles can burn in air is because the air contains some substance that
supports combustion. This substance is oxygen. Oxygen is one of the main components of the air
around us, and Earth's air is almost 21% oxygen. Some people may wonder what the remaining
1% of air is. The remaining 1% of air is made up of various components, including dust, water
vapor, carbon dioxide, and many other kinds of components.
[Link] conditions necessary for combustion
(1) oxygen: combustion is actually a luminous, exothermic redox reaction. Because oxygen
has oxidizing properties, so when oxygen encounters combustible materials, if the
temperature reaches the value required for the reaction, the reaction will occur, which is
combustion. And if there is no oxygen, combustion will not occur because there are no
reactants to react with the fuel to produce new substances in the release of energy.
(2) Fuel: As I said before, fuel can be in any form, solid, liquid or gas. In this experiment we
are using a candle (solid), the reason it is needed to fight is because it provides the molecules
and energy needed.
(3) Ignition source: An ignition source is a source of heat energy that has some energy and
can cause combustibility. These ignition sources must have a sufficient temperature to ignite a
certain amount of combustible and combustible materials combined.
Combustible material, oxidizer and ignition source, are the three elements of combustion,
they are indispensable, when the three elements at the same time and the interaction will
produce combustion.
6. Method of extinguishment.
The use of quenching combustion in this experiment is a natural end to the combustion
reaction when there is no oxygen available for combustion. This is because oxygen is a good
oxidizer , and if there is no oxygen, there are no reactants for the oxidation process. And this
will cause the flame to go out, thus ending the combustion process. And this is because
oxygen is needed for the combustion reaction, and once the oxygen is depleted, there is no
longer oxygen to maintain the heat source for the reaction, and when there is no heat, the fuel
cannot continue to react and the flame will naturally go out.
7. The significance of this experiment
The significance of this experiment is that it measures how the volume of air affects the
duration of a candle burning. In other words, it can help us increase our understanding of the
chemistry of combustion reactions. So it can prevent some accidents, for example, when the
house is on fire, since we already know the importance of oxygen for combustion, we can
cover the burning material with sand, wet quilts to isolate the oxygen and thus extinguish the
fire.
Hypothesis:
When we increase the amount of air in the inverted beaker, the combustion time may become
longer because the oxygen content of the air increases so it can support a longer combustion
time. The increase in the amount of air and the increase in time should be proportional. I think
170 ml of air has the shortest combustion time, while 1260 ml of air has the longest
combustion time.
Variables：
Independent Variable Description
Volume of air within the inverted The volume of air will range from 170 ml, 350 ml,
beaker sealed with plasticine(ml) 650 ml, 1260 ml. The volume of air will be changed
by using beakers of different sizes, which are closed
with rubber cement, so that the experimental error
will be reduced as much as possible. Also changing
the amount of air may affect the burning time of the
candle.
Dependent Variable Description
Time of combustion (S) The time of the combustion may be affected by the
amount of air. We will have a team member to
record the candle combustion time, and the duration
of the combustion will be measured with a timer. As
soon as there is no longer any flame on the candle,
the combustion is considered over, and the team
member responsible for recording the candle's
combustion time is the one who stops the timer.
Control Variables Description
Fuel type(candle) The fuel (candle) needs to remain constant so that
the change in combustion time does not occur
because of the change in fuel.
Room temperature(°C) Room temperature might affects combustion. When
you raise the temperature of a substance, it increases
the rate of combustion. This is because higher
temperatures bring heat, which brings more energy
to the fuel substance and oxygen. This will result in
more collisions and more efficient collisions
between the fuel and oxygen. So to make sure that
the burning time of the candle does not change
depending on the different room temperatures, the
temperature was kept at 20°C in this experiment.
Ignition source Different ignition sources may have an effect on the
burning, so we should choose the same ignition
source so that the candle combustion time will not
be affected by the ignition source.
Fuel quantity We need to make sure that there is enough and the
same amount of fuel. Otherwise, the candle burning
time may be limited by the amount of fuel. If there is
not enough fuel, the combustion time of the candle
may end early because of lack of fuel.
Safety:
Safety Precautions Reasons & Descriptions
To prevent fire, flammable materials should In this experiment, we will use burning
be kept away from the area where the candles, and the combustion of candles will
experiment is being conducted. produce flames, if there are flammable
materials in the vicinity, such as paper,
notebooks and chemical solvents, it is easy
to catch fire, thereby increasing the risk of
accidents.
Wear personal protective equipment such as Combustion experiments emit heat, and if
white coats, safety goggles and gloves. To the experimenter's body touches the flame it
protect yourself from the heat and flames may burn their skin. And the very bright
generated by combustion. flames and sparks in combustion
experiments may harm the eyes of the
experimenter. This is why we must wear
personal protective equipment.
When you have contact with fuel and flame, If you follow procedures carefully, you can
follow the proper procedures and don't play minimize the risk of accidents and ensure
with it. the safety of yourself and others nearby.
Conversely, it is irresponsible to your group
members and fellow students.
Have a emergencies plan. If you do not follow the above steps,
emergencies may occur, and when it
happen, you will not get any time to think,
so you better need a plan to handle the
emergencies.
Raw Data Collection:
Raw data of combustion time of same candle in different volume of air in inverted glass
beaker (170 ml, 350 ml, 650 ml, 1260 ml).
Different volume Time taken for candle to extinguish (s)
of air in the Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
inverted glass
beaker(ml)
170 4.47 4.31 4.75
350 12.03 10.63 11.35
650 24.5 21.06 22.97
1260 37.43 34.28 39.47
Data Processing:
First, we need to calculate and write down the average of the three trials for each air volume.
The formula is as follows:
Trial 1+ Trial 2+Trial 3
Average=
3
Sot the calculation for 170 ml of air is:
（4.47+4.31+4.75）/3=4.51