Defining the problem:
How many variable do we need to account for?
-Candle size, wick length, wax ingredients.
-I researched candle wax composition and found that the two types of candles that we are using are definitely made of different mixture of paraffin and other oils but was unable to determine the exact ingredients.
Carrying out the study:
We have two 16 oz. jars with lids.
We have votive candles and birthday candles. We are going to measure and weigh the candles. We are going to cut one of each type of candle so that we have two different sizes of the same candle.
The votive candles are 29.4 grams in weight, 3.7 cm in width and 3.8 cm tall .The wick is 1 cm in length.
The birthday candles weigh 3.3 grams and are 8 mm at the widest point, 7 cm long and the wick is 5mm long.
We need to determine how much oxygen is in each jar.- Diatomic oxygen gas constitutes 20.8% of the volume of air.
We also must find the volume of the jars. They are both 26.33 in^3
So, the volume of O^2 in each jar is 5.48 in^3.
We began the experiment by lighting the candles, putting the lid on the jar and measuring the time until the flame goes out. We lit each candle several time, to see if the burn time remained consistent. We cut the candles so that we had a full size and a half size of each type.
We then examined the results. Both of the candles burnt the longest amount of time the first time that we lit them. The votive candle (both sizes) burned for a consistent amount of time after the first lighting. We observed the similar results for the birthday candle, though the birthday candles were less consistent.
Our reflections on our findings are as follows: When a candle is freshly lit the thick wax on the tip causes it to burn for slightly longer in an environment with a limited air supply. The candle burns for slightly less time each successive lighting after that. We think that this has to do with the shortening of the wick with each lighting. We think that the longer burn time for the initial lighting has to do with the amount of wax on the wick.
this experiment has caused us to form many new questions .
- What causes different sizes of flames, besides the candle wax composition and wick length?
- Why does does the burn time decrease after several lightings?
- How does jar shape affect burn time?
- Why are birthday candles less consistent than votive candles?
- Does wax burn at a different temperature than the string in the wick?
Candle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
How does oxygen Affect how fast a candle will burn?
Mayntz. http://candles.lovetoknow.com/
Oxygen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen 2/15/2011
No comments:
Post a Comment