In this activity, students carry out a number of investigations to discover the answer to this question. Scientific Inquiry Students clarify questions by discussing how a candle burns. Students conduct several investigations with candles and use the evidence from those investigations to describe and explain what they observed. Students recognize and analyze alternative explanations for why a candle goes out when a vessel is placed over a burning candle.
Students use mathematics to calculate the calories produced per gram of candle burned.
Students may be asked to graph the calories produced per gram of candle for various types of candles. Abilities of Technological Design To extend the lesson to meet this standard, have students apply what they learned in the candle investigations about how paraffin burns to identify appropriate problems for technological design of candles, to design a candle, to implement the proposed design, and to evaluate the designs. Properties and Changes of Properties in Matter, Grades 5-8 A characteristic property of wax is that it burns as a vapor which will relight if it is ignited before it disperses or condenses. Substances react chemically in characteristic ways to form new substances with different characteristic properties. Transfer of Energy, Grades 5-8 Heat moves in predictable ways, flowing from warmer objects to cooler ones.