The Bunsen Burner

Activity No. 1

Jalani, Shermina
Oboy, Kayla Joy
Selisana, Jamie Erzibeth
Zaroma, Aedrienne Nicole
BSN1P; NurChem Lab A
First Semester, Session 1, SY 2021-2022
August 21, 2021
RATIONALE
Paragraph 1 (Member 1)

The Bunsen Burner is a tower figure tool commonly seen in laboratory. It is one of the
most important laboratory apparatus used in any chemistry lab oratories. It is important because it
can burn several types of gasses and produces a single clean and hot flame. Most chemistry
activities made in a laboratory requires fire and Bunsen burner is one of the tools that we can
definitely use to make our work clean and easy.

Paragraph 2 (Member 2)

The field of medicine is broad and full of numerous subcategories involved in it. The
activity is in relation to the specific category of chemistry—the study of matter, and how matter is
subject to change when faced with different environmental conditions. The activity has great
significance to the field of medicine, since Bunsen burners are very important especially for
laboratory studies when needing to heat up, sterilize or observe different chemical reactions with
the use of the burner; which makes it one of the greatest inventions in modern chemistry, and in
turn, medicine.

The following are the objectives for this activity:

1. (Member 3)
2. Discuss the difference between luminous and non-luminous flames. (Member 4)
3. Familiarize the Bunsen Burner’s operation for future laboratory activities. (Member 1)
 DATA INTERPRETATION

Data No. 1 (Member 2)

1. The parts of the Bunsen burner

Nozzle

Barrel

Collar
Air holes/Air Control Vent/Air
Intake Window
Gas
Needle Valve
Gas Inlet

Base

Interpretation: The data attached above showcases the many parts of the Bunsen burner. Being
knowledgeable on the different parts of the apparatus to be used is necessary, so as to avoid
misusing the apparatus or mishandling it when uninformed of the parts and how it is set-up.

Data No. 2 (Member 3)

(Copy the same data spaces/box/table/blank list from the Data Sheet)

Interpretation: habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem.
Thsya Investigationes demonstraverunt lectores legere me lius quod ii legunt saepius.

Data No. 3 (Member 4) Color of flame (closed air holes): Yellow, luminous

Interpretation: The flame is yellow, luminous because it has insufficient oxygen, which is one
of the essential elements of complete combustion. Incomplete combustion gives yellow flame. A
yellow flame from a Bunsen burner releases less energy as incomplete combustion occurs. And
complete combustion gives blue flame, a non-luminous flame that releases more energy.

Data No. 4 (Member 1) Deposit of the porcelain dish (open air holes): Black/ash residue

Interpretation: Soot is black powdery or flaky substance formed during the combustion of
hydrocarbon fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and wood therefore, as the porcelain dish made
contact with the fire produced by the Bunsen burner, the soot/ash residue leaves a stain in the
porcelain dish.

Data No. 5 (Member 2) Deposit on porcelain dish (open air holes): There is no visible
deposit on the porcelain dish

Interpretation: There is no visible deposit on the porcelain dish since air has entered through the
air holes which creates a non-luminous flame. The flame did not leave any deposit unto the
porcelain dish since the combustion process was complete and did not contain any soot particles
caused by only having methane (when the air holes are closed). The chemical equation for the
chemical reaction of methane and oxygen is as follows: CH4 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

Data No. 6. (Member 3)

Data No. 7. (Member 4) Matchstick on barrel in flame: The matchstick lighted

Interpretation: The matchstick lighted and charred the parts of the matchstick. Wood is
composed of different elements such as oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. When burning hydrogen,
and oxygen it will leave and form other compounds. There was also a delay because unburnt
gasses are containing below the flame.

Data No. 8 (Member 1)

Lighted
Matchstick

Tube

Interpretation: The gas in the main fire from the Bunsen burner travels to the tube that cause the
tip of the tube to light when it was lighted by a matchstick.
 Data No. 9 (Member 2) – Scorched Cardboard

Hottest

Coolest

Interpretation: The wet cardboard was placed against the Bunsen burner flame in order to
identify the different intensities that makes up the flame, the scorched paper becoming a
visualization of temperature estimates, from coolest to hottest.

Data No. 10 (Member 3)

Nursing Chemistry (NurChem)
Laboratory Report

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. (Member 4) Give the composition of the deposit on the porcelain dish when it was held
over a luminous (“colored”) flame

ANSWER: Carbon soot is formed when it has insufficient oxygen during combustion. The
soot was deposited on the porcelain dish because there is no mixture of gas and air and the
flame was not completely combusted.

2. (Member 1) Considering that butane (C4H10) is the most common component of

liquefied petroleum gas, show a simple word equation for the reaction.

ANSWER: The butane combustion equation is:

2C4 H10 + 13O2 → 8CO2 + 10H2O.
Butane releases its chemical energy by undergoing hydrocarbon combustion. Below is
a hydrocarbon combustion animation showing the net reaction that occurs when butane combines
with oxygen.

3. (Member 2) Upon sprinkling the flame with charcoal, its color changes. Explain the
phenomenon.

ANSWER: Charcoal is produced from heating wood, which is why charcoal is carbon,
since it is derived from wood. With that in mind, a mixture of Carbon and Oxygen will result
in Carbon dioxide, as oxidation produces/releases more heat, which thus explains the color
changes—the non-luminous flame reacting and turning into a more luminous color, due to the
heat. The chemical equation for this phenomenon is: C + O2 → CO2

4. (Member 3) Etc.

5. (Member 4) Instead of using common propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10) for liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG), octane is suggested. Will this be feasible? Defend your position.

ANSWER: Octane is an important chemical agent in the petroleum industry, and it is used
as a component of gasoline. Yes, Octane can be used as LPG gas because it is still highly
combustible when there is sufficient oxygen like how other LPG gas works such as
propane and butane.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Natural Sciences Department, College of Science and Information Technology, Ateneo de Zamboanga University
Nursing Chemistry (NurChem)
Laboratory Report

CONCLUSION (Member 4 & Member 3)

https://www.livescience.com/45986-what-is-chemistry.html

Bunsen burner is an efficient tool that provides a flame in a chemistry lab. It usually helps to heat
materials used in the laboratory. It is important to know the parts of Burner as operation of the Burner is
precisely followed for safety purposes.

State the conclusion here. DO NOT begin with “I therefore conclude…” Immediately state the summary
or the principle(s) of shown by the results. Maximum of 10 sentences only. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam
erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl
ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

REFERENCES (Member 2)

Use APA format. Inlcude ALL references, especially those taken online (from the internet).

REFERENCE LIST

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories. (2018, September 6). Cracking the code to soot formation:
Scientists unlock mystery to help reduce hazardous emissions. ScienceDaily. Retrieved
July 29, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180906141629.htm
J.M.K.C. Donev et al. (2020). Energy Education - Butane [Online]. Available:
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Butane
Alane, L. (2020, July 30). What is chemistry? LiveScience. Retrieved July 30, 2021 from
https://www.livescience.com/45986-what-is-chemistry.html
McMahon, M. (n.d.). What is a Bunsen Burner? (with pictures). Retrieved July 30, 2021 from
https://www.infobloom.com/what-is-a-bunsen-burner.htm
Pawela, B. (n.d.). Chemistry of Fire. Retrieved July 30, 2021 from
https://mypages.iit.edu/~smart/pawebar/lesson3.html

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
Natural Sciences Department, College of Science and Information Technology, Ateneo de Zamboanga University