Light Bulb Experiment

Question/Problem: What can make a homemade light bulb last

longer?
Hypothesis: Adding a lit candle inside a homemade light bulb will
make it last longer. Because the candle helps the pencil graphite to
prolong the fire and the oxygen that encloses to the jar and
compresses the pressure of it inside.

MATERIALS:
● Six D-cell batteries
● Insulated wire with alligator clips on both ends
● Bulldog clip
● 0.7mm pencil graphite (from a mechanical pencil refill)
● Electrical tape
● Small candle
● Large jar
● Paper plate
● Clay
● Stopwatch
● Lighter

VARIABLES:
Dependent - Time

Independent - Clay
Small candle
Controlled - Pieces of battery
Size of battery
Measure of pencil graphite
Size of candle
Amount of clay
Pieces of alligator clip

PROCEDURE:

1.Tape the batteries to each other by connecting a positive terminal of

one battery to the negative terminal of the next battery and then use
the electrical tape to keep the batteries together.
2.Clip one end of a piece of wire on the bulldog clip and do the same
to the other piece of wire. The alligator clips should be pointing
upwards, the bulldog clip propping up the structure.
3.Tape the bulldog clip to the paper plate to keep it from moving and
make sure that it can be covered by the jar.
4.Carefully clip a piece of pencil graphite on the two alligator clips.
5.Cover the entire structure with the jar.
6.Tape the other alligator clip of ONE piece of wire to ONE of the
ends of your long battery.
7.When your stopwatch is ready, touch the other free alligator clip to
the other end of your long battery. The piece of pencil graphite should
light up and burn. Record the time until it burns out.
8.When the graphite is no longer emitting light, remove the alligator
clip and remove the jar from the structure.
9.Remove the burnt graphite and replace it with a new one.
 10.Apply clay to the mouth of the jar, such that when you re-cover
your structure, there will be no gaps between the jar and the plate. No
air should come in or go out of the system.
11.Cover the structure (which contains new graphite) and make sure
that there are no gaps between the inside and outside of the jar.
12.Touch the free alligator clip to the free end of the long battery.
13.Record the time until the graphite burns out.
14.When the graphite is no longer emitting light, remove the alligator
clip and remove the jar from the structure.
15.Remove the burnt graphite and replace it with a new one.
Make sure that there is sufficient clay to create another sealed
structure. You will need to replace this quickly.
16.Light the candle and place it next to the bulldog clip. Cover the
structure (quickly). Make sure that there are no gaps between the
inside and outside of the jar.
17.Wait for the candle to burn out.
18.Once the candle is burnt out, the inside of the jar becomes
oxygen-free. Touch the free alligator clip to the free end of the long
battery. Record the time until the graphite burns out.

SET UP 1:
SET UP 2:

SET UP 3:
 RESULT: The result of our experiment, it will not work the pencil
graphite because of the battery that we use. But when we add the candle in
the jar and the pencil graphite is also inside. The fire of the candle it
prolonged for 3 seconds.

RESULT TABLE:

SET UP Dependent Independent Controlled Average

Trial 1 22.05 none Size of battery Not work

Trial 2 22.06 clay Alligator clip It work
Trial 3 22.08 candle Pencil graphite It work

CONCLUSION: We conclude that the pencil graphite will not work because
of the battery that we use. There are many times that we use the battery. The pencil
graphite had smoke enclosed in the jar. Therefore, when the pencil graphite and
candle are combined, it is prolonged and adds 3 seconds to the time that we try the
candle only in the jar.

RECOMMENDATION: We recommend that you need to use the battery

not several times because the battery will not work. We also recommend that your
materials in experiment must be completed at first to lessen the other materials that
might happen to not work if you use it.