Candle Investigation - How Does the Volume of Oxygen in a Beaker Affect the Burning Time of a Tea-Light Candle

Research Question / Statement:

How does the volume of oxygen in a beaker affect the burning time of a tea-light candle.

PLANNING

Variable(s) listed

Units of variable (where appropriate)

How will you:

Change the independent variable?

Measure the dependent variable?

Control the fixed variables?

Independent Variable

(the one which you will change in the investigation)

Volume of air

(volume of beaker)

cm3

Change the size of beakers

Dependent Variable

(the one which you will be measuring (or sometimes observing) for your results data.

Burning time

Seconds

Stopwatch

Fixed variables (the ones which you must keep the same throughout the investigation to make it a fair test)

How will you control it?

Type of candle

Size

When you start stopwatch

Type of beaker

Volume of beaker

Same type of stopwatch

Use the same candle throughout

Hypothesis:

As the beaker gets smaller, then the candle will go out faster because the oxygen gets less.

Diagram of Apparatus:

Draw, photograph or find a suitable image of the apparatus as it was set up for the investigation (not separate diagrams of each piece). Label it and include source if appropriate

Apparatus you need to conduct the experiment.

Apparatus piece

Size / volume

Quantity

Tea-light candle

Tea-light candle

1

Beaker

1000cm3

1

Beaker

600cm3

1

Beaker

400cm3

1

Beaker

250cm3

1

Beaker

100cm3

1

Lighter

N/A

1

Stopwatch

N/A

1

Plasticine

Enough to cover spout

1

Fireproof Mat

N/A

1

Method:

Tie hair up if necessary

Make sure working space is clear

Get science goggles and wear them.

Place the seat under the workspace.

Get all the apparatus ready.

Get the 1000cm3 beaker out.

Cover the beaker’s spout with plasticine.

Light the candle with the lighter (make sure you keep using the same candle).

Cover the candle with the beaker and immediately start the stopwatch.

Observe what is happening in the beaker.

Wait till the flame goes out then stop the stopwatch.

Record the time of the burning time of the candle in the table.

Repeat step 7-12 four more times with the 600cm3, 400cm3, 250cm3, and 100cm3 beakers.

Repeat steps 6-13 two more times

Table/Results/Graph:

How does the volume of oxygen in a beaker affect the amount of time a tealight candle burns.

Volume of beaker (cm3)

Burning time (seconds)

1

2

3

average

100

4,22

4,60

3,33

4.05

250

10,80

11,04

12,12

11.32

400

17,37

16,91

17,04

17.11

600

27,90

27,50

27,30

27.57

1000