Materials Required:
l Glass soda bottle
l Water
l Small candle (like the kind put on birthday cakes)
l 2 or 3 straight pins
l Matches
The help of one of your parents
Procedure:
- Fill the soda bottle to the top with water.
- Poke two straight pins into the bottom of a birthday candle and suspend the candle in the water. It should float upright. If the candle is tilted, you may need to add another pin to weight the base down a little more.
- Now, ask one of your parents to light the candle. As you watch it burn down, stop and think: Will the flame die out when the wick burns down to the water level? Watch and see.
This Is What Happens:
At the start of the experiment, the candle floats at the surface of the water. As the top burns away, the weight of the candle is decreased bit by bit. With less weight, the entire candle rises slightly, keeping the wick above the water level at all times. So, even though the candle grows shorter, the flame is never smothered by the water, and the candle keeps burning until its wick finally burns out.
