Name: ____________________________
Unit 5 Lab 1: Kinetics of Burning Candle
HHS AP Chemistry
Aim: The purpose of this laboratory experiment is to determine whether burning a candle follows a zero-,
first-, or second-order rate law. These experiments do not represent true chemical kinetics experiments in
which concentration data are collected and plotted over time. Instead, they serve as simplistic models for
the more complex and rigorous chemical kinetics experiments.
Necessary Background Knowledge: The integrated rate laws for zero-, first-, and second-order rate
laws, knowing that graphing data in different forms can determine the rate constants and order of
reactions. See Table 1 below for a summary.
Procedures:
Burning a Candle
1. Obtain a weighing boat and birthday candle.
2. Using a lighter, briefly heat the bottom of the candle to make it melt slightly, then stick the candle
upright in the weighing boat.
3. Find the mass of the weighing boat with a candle. Record it in your copy of the Google Sheet.
This is your mass for time = 0.
4. Using the lighter, ignite the candle and begin time.
5. Every 30 seconds, take the mass again.
6. Repeat step 5 until the candle is too small to be safely burned in the boat.
a. An analogy can be made comparing this data-collection technique to the method of
taking readings of an ongoing chemical reaction, quenching them, and analyzing the
chemical contents. We will do something like this at a later date!
Credits:
Michael J. Sanger,* Russell A. Wiley Jr., and Erwin W. Richter Department of Chemistry, University
of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0423; *[email protected]
Amy J. Phelps Department of Chemistry, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132
