By: Christian Young and Daniel Zalivchii Firefighters By: Christian Young and Daniel Zalivchii

Purpose of the Project Create a paint that is cheap, but effective Safe for young children Persuade people to use fire retardant paint Reduce the amount of fires and money lost in the US.

Statistics In the year 2012 a total of 480,500 structure fires were reported These fires caused a total loss of $1.1 billion dollars 300 civilian deaths and 800 civilian injuries occurred If fire retardant paint was used more often in homes, then almost all of these statistics would change. The amount of money lost would decrease every year if people only used fire retardant paint in there homes. Since paint covers all the walls in a house, a retardant paint would help by giving more time for escaping victims.

Hypothesis Hypothesis: If Baking Soda is used as a chemical additive the amount of time it takes for the flame to go out will be the shortest. We predicted that the baking soda was going to be the most effective chemical for retarding fires, because it is a main component in dry chemical fire extinguishers. Baking Soda also contains carbon, which has the highest melting point of all elements.

Materials Borax Baking Soda Interior White Paint “1 Inch” Cardboard Squares Scissors Plastic Cups Mixing Spoon Lighter Timer

Procedure We took 3 cups and fill each with 50 ml of paint Then we set one cup aside to serve as the control of the experiment After that we measure and mixed in 7.5 ml of borax into the second cup We repeat step four except using baking soda Next we cut a total of nine 1 inch squares of cardboard using scissors Three squares were painted with the regular paint, three with the “borax” paint, and three with the “baking soda” paint Half of every square was painted on the front and back This paint was let to dry for the specified time on the can of paint After drying, we tested each square by lighting the bare area of the cardboard The stopwatch was used to record how long it takes for the flame to go out

Elements of a fire To make a fire 3 things are needed of the right mixture: Oxygen Fuel Heat If a single element is removed the fire will be extinguished. Water reduces the heat Fire Blankets remove the oxygen or oxidizing agent

Borax (Sodium Borate) Characteristics soft, colorless crystalline, solid clumps Formula: Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O Mineral Used in fireproofing cloth and wood Fairly Inexpensive

Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) Characteristics white odorless, crystalline chemical compound Formula: NaHCO₃ when baking soda is heated above 50 degrees Celsius it releases CO2 Causes fires to go out by covering them with CO2, which is heavier than air

Safety Precautions Borax: Little risk, but still effects on the skin, eyes, and internal system.(Irritant) Note: Reactive with reducing agents. Baking Soda: Little risk, but still effects on the skin, eyes, and internal system.(Irritant) Note: Dangerous reaction with monoammonium phosphate or a sodium-potassium alloy

Observations Chemical Baking Soda Borax Painted area doesn't undergo any physical changes Painted area becomes crisp and slightly browns Contact causes flame to extinguish rapidly One of the painted cardboard pieces turned yellow and started to bend

Conclusions From experimentation we concluded that baking soda worked the best out of the two chemicals for making fire retardant paint. Borax was also very effective, but would have been better if the chemical was mixed in better (clumping).

Any questions ?

Works Cited "Fires in the U.S." Fires in the U.S. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. "Dry Chemical Extinguishers." Dry Chemical Extinguishers. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. "What Is Borax?" About.com Chemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. "How Do Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers Work?“ HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. "How to Make Cloth Fireproof." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.