SCIENCE IS MAGIC!

NOVEMBER 2, 2015 GLORIAL-2014 LEAVE A COMMENT

Match and Water Trick – How does the water react with a burning candle?

Magic!

The water appears to magically rise upwards when the flame is extinguished. How does
science explain this mystery?
Materials & Procedures

Materials: dish, candle, beaker, water, lighter

1. Fill a shallow dish with some water and place a candle in the middle.
2. Light the candle.
3. Quickly place a glass beaker on top.
4. Observe!
Chemical Reaction:

CH4 + O2 → CO2 + H2O (Complete combustion)

Research:

The beaker is placed over the candle, and the flame heats the air up. When the air is heated,
the gas particles expand and move faster, putting pressure on the water (higher
temperature = higher air pressure; Gay-Lussac’s law – pressure increases proportionately
to temperature increase). Carbon dioxide, a product from the chemical reaction (CH4 + O2
→ CO2 + H2O) pushes oxygen downwards since it is hotter (less dense). As more carbon
dioxide is produced there is less oxygen available for the combustion, causing the flame to
go out. This lowers the temperature of the air. Applying the Gay-Lussac Law, there is now
less pressure on the water. The decrease in air pressure causes the water to rise.

A common explanation and misconception is how the oxygen burnt during combustion
causes the water to rise; oxygen in the air is burnt, leaving an empty space, and the water
rises up to fill it. This suggests that the volume of water risen is the same amount of oxygen
used in the combustion. However, the conservation of mass tells us that the mass after the
chemical reaction is the same as before because no atoms can be created or destroyed. In
this case, the oxygen became the products, CO2 + H2O, and wasn’t destroyed.
Observations & Outcomes:

For our first attempt at this experiment, we used a 1L beaker to place over the candle
flame. We soon realized that the flame will take too long to extinguish because there is too
much oxygen, so instead we switched to a 250mL beaker which helped shorten the time.
The flame extinguished and the water started slowly rising. The water stayed up for several
minutes.