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Thursday, October 20, 2011

Little Boy Plays with Fire

This post is written for little kiddies who like Science (and their Daddies and Mommies). Little Boy was scared to death of the box of matches. It was a sort of fascinated scared. The sort of experience that gives you a frisson at the nape of your neck. So, the whole family gathered to watch Little Boy play with fire. Of course, we had to make sure we chose a spot with nothing flammable too near by.

Little Boy's first successful attempt at lighting the candle. It was uproariously funny because no one could understand why the match stick would not light even after 5 or 6 successive strikes. We concluded that Little Boy has limp fingers that needed training.


The small and precious flame was then gingerly placed into a container with some water and 2 small coins. This, Little Boy managed to do really well.


A glass jar was placed over the candle with an edge balanced gently upon a coin. This creates a small gap that allows water to move in and out of the jar.


Since the jar was sealed by water at its opening, no air could enter. The flame slowly went out.
Why?
If you do this experiment at home, you will notice that something happens to the water.
What happens to the water?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll save this for my g'kids to do when they're old enough to use matches. Which might be never for Neylan since she has vision challenges. Since the flame went out the candle had used up the available oxygen in the upside down glass jar. Why two coins? Why is the glass jar placed on one of the coins, what is achieved by having water continue to flow freely under the edge of jar? As for what happens to the water, well I'm thinking about it...LOL Does the water turn to mist...the heat could evaporate the water. According to Wikipedia this can happen at a low temperature. Still thinking about it!

Petunia Lee said...

Theanne - Goodness me! You ain't no kiddy! You're a granny! Still, I'm glad I piqued your curiosity!!

Science Kid said...

Hi PetuniaLee!
Thanks! My son also interests in science projects.