Observing a Candle

Aaron Keller
Sample Lab Report
September 17, 2009
Introduction
In this lab I observed the burning of a andle ver! losel!" I found out that the andle needs
o#!gen to burn, that it produes arbon dio#ide similar to the $a! that m! bod! produes arbon
dio#ide, and that a andle produes $ater as a seond $aste produt" I learned that if I hold an
ob%et in the flame it beomes overed $ith soot $hih is unburned arbon fuel" &inall!, I
learned that neither the solid $a#, nor the melted $a#, nor the $i' burns $hen a andle is lit" In
fat, the $a# itself is burning as a vapor or gas"
Objectives
1" (hat happens to the andle $hen !ou light it)
2" *an !ou prove that the andle needs o#!gen in order to burn)
+" *an !ou prove that the andle produes arbon dio#ide $hen it burns)
," *an !ou prove that the andle produes $ater $hen it burns)
-" (hat happens $hen !ou hold a piee of glass in different parts of the flame) (hat do
these results sa! about the proess of burning $a# in a andle)
." Is it possible to light a andle $ithout touhing the flame diretl! to the $i') (h! or
$h! not)
Materials
andle
mathes
safet! goggles
lab handout / pen
ruler
$ath glass
,00 mL bea'er
*0
2
indiator solution 1lime$ater2
-0 mL bea'er 1for indiator2
Procedure
3! lab partner and I performed a series of e#periments to investigate the hemistr! of the
burning of a andle" 4he teaher provided the follo$ing hemial e5uation to desribe the
burning, or ombustion, in the andle6
7!droarbon fuel 8 0
2
*0
2
8 7
2
0
4he andle $e used $as a small, $hite emergen! andle about +"- m tall" 4he andle had
alread! been used b! someone else beause I ould see from the bla' $i' that it had been lit
before"
(hen $e lit the andle I notied that at first it $as onl! the $i' that $as burning"
9ventuall!, after the flame had melted a small pool of $a#, I notied that the flame gre$ a bit
brighter and the $i' didn:t seem to be burning as fast as before" It loo'ed li'e the fuel had
hanged from the $i' to the $a#" ;eause the flame gre$ bigger %ust at the moment $hen the
$a# melted leads me to onlude this"
4he first e#periment $e did $as to over the andle $ith a ,00 mL bea'er" (hen $e overed
the andle $e notied that the inside of the bea'er beame fogged, possibl! from $ater" <er!
5ui'l!, $ithin about 10 se", the andle $ent out" (e repeated this e#periment a fe$ times to
see if it might ta'e less time for the flame to go out the seond time" It did not ta'e an! less time
to go out, or at least $e ouldn:t tell if it did"
4he seond e#periment $e did $as to put the andle out $ith the bea'er as before but then
5ui'l! turn over the bea'er" 3! lab partner fethed some lime$ater solution and poured it into
the ontainer" I s$irled the solution $ith the gases inside and the lear lime$ater beame loud!,
as if suddenl! there $ere tin! $hite partiles suspended in it"
4he third e#periment $e did $as to find out $hether $ater $as reall! a produt of the
ombustion reation" (e held the ,00 mL bea'er upside=do$n over the andle flame and the
inside of the bea'er beame oated $ith ondensation" After a short $hile the bottom of the
bea'er beame hot and the ondensation that had olleted there evaporated a$a!, leaving a
irle $here there $as none"
4he fourth e#periment $e did $as to hold the edge of a dr! $ath glass right in the flame" A
deposit of bla' soot formed on the $ath glass $hen $e held the glass in the bright orange=
!ello$ part of the flame" (hen $e held the glass in the bottom, lear, blue=rimmed part of the
flame a lear li5uid appeared on the glass" After $e pulled the glass out of the flame and let it
ool off the lear li5uid solidified and turned out to be andle $a#"
4he fifth and last e#periment $e did $as to find out $hether it is the li5uid $a# that burns or
some gas or vapor that the li5uid $a# beomes $hen it is heated" I lit the andle and let it burn
until there $as a pool of hot li5uid $a# around the $i'" 4hen I lit a math using the flame and
ble$ out the andle" >e#t I held the lit math in the stream of ?smo'e@ $ithout touhing the
flame to the $i'" 4he flame %umped from the math to the $i'"
(e $eighed the andle before starting our e#periments and found it had a mass of 12"7 g"
After $e finished all of our $or' $e ble$ out the andle and found that it onl! had a mass of
10"2 g" Someho$, the andle had lost 2"- g of its original mass"
Analysis
In this lab $e did a series of e#periments to e#plore the hemial reation6
&uel 8 0
2
*0
2
8 7
2
0 $here the fuel is a andle" 4his reation is a ombustion reation"
(e found that the andle does in fat need o#!gen to burn beause $hen $e ut off the
suppl! of fresh air $ith a bea'er, the andle $ent out" 4his happened beause the burned andle
used up the o#!gen inside the bea'er and ne$ o#!gen from the air ouldn:t get to it"
(e $ere able to prove that *0
2
is a produt of the reation" (hen $e s$irled the gases
produed $hen the andle burns $ith the lime$ater, the lime$ater beame loud! $hite" 4he
loudiness sho$ed that the lime$ater had ome into ontat $ith arbon dio#ide sine that is the
onl! thing that auses it to beome loud!" 4his proves that andles produe *0
2
$hen the!
burn"
0ur e#periments sho$ed that $ater 17
2
02 is also a produt of the ombustion reation" (hen
$e held the bea'er over the flame, $ater from the flame ondensed on it" 4he ondensation ame
from the flame, sho$ing that 7
2
0 is a produt of the ombustion reation"
0ne interesting thing $e disovered $as that !ou an see the arbon before it is ompletel!
burned up into *0
2
b! holding a piee of glass in the bright part of the flame" 4he bla' soot $e
olleted $as pure arbonAat least, that:s $hat the teaher said" 4he soot partiles get so hot in
the flame that the! glo$, %ust li'e the heating element on an eletri stove glo$s $hen it is
turned high enough" At the bottom of the flame, $here it is lear, $e olleted unburned $a#"
(hat must have happened is that the heat of the flame melted and then vaporiBed the $a#" 4he
lear part of the flame must be $here the $a# goes %ust before it reall! starts to burn in the
visible flame above it"
Surprisingl!, $e found out that the phase of matter that is burning in the andle is a gas" (e
'no$ this beause of the %umping flame" If the solid or li5uid $a# $ere burning the %umping
flame tri' $ould not have been possible" 4he ?smo'e@ that appears $hen !ou blo$ out a andle
is reall! the vaporiBed $a# that I mentioned in the previous paragraph" 4his means that it is
flammable and so $hen a lit math is brought into the stream of vaporiBed $a# it an burn it and
the flame seems to %ump from the math to the andle" I an be sure that this is the ase beause I
an:t ma'e the flame %ump from %ust an!$here6 it onl! $or's if !ou hold the math in the stream
of ?smo'e@ that omes out $hen !ou blo$ out the andle"
&inall!, the andle lost 2"- g of its original mass over the ourse of our e#periments" 4he onl!
$as to e#plain this is to assume that the lost mass is the amount of the andle that burned and
beame arbon dio#ide and $ater" >o mass an ever reall! be reated from nothing or totall!
destro!ed" 4he andle gets smaller and loses mass over time beause the $a# is hemiall!
hanging from a h!droarbon to t$o other ompounds6 *0
2
and 7
2
0"
Conclusion
(e $ere able to suessfull! omplete all of the ob%etives of this lab" I $as surprised b! the
fat that andles produe $ater $hen the! burn" Sine $ater is used to put out fires I didn:t thin'
it ould be made b! oneC Also, I thought the %umping flame tri' $as amaBing" It loo's li'e
magi but I 'no$ that it isn:t" 4he flame %ust burns the flammable gas from the andle and
relights the $i'" I ertainl! understand ho$ a andle $or's a lot better than I did before doing
this lab"