Sentence:  As with the puzzle of what happens during the combustion of a metal in pure oxygen (the "steel wool" experiment), this result can of course be <WSD>quined</WSD>. Taking the phlogistic view, we could say that the calx requires the same phlogiston content as the metal, so of course the amount of water absorbed must be in accord with that. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To deny the existence or significance of something obviously real or important.