By Miranda Padilla and Mary Kem Playing With Fire By Miranda Padilla and Mary Kem

Does a colored candle or a un-colored candle burn faster? Question: Does a colored candle or a un-colored candle burn faster?

Hypothesis: Our hypothesis was that the colored candle would burn faster than the un-colored candle.

Materials Two un-colored candles. Two colored candles. A box of matches. An alarm clock. A calculator A notebook and pen

Procedure 1) Pull hair back and so it wont fall in front of you. 2) Put safety goggles on 3) Place one colored candle and on un-colored candle on the table and clear away all clutter around candles. 4) Carefully light match and put match box far away from the burning flame.

Procedure (continued) 5) Once the candle is lit, blow out the match and run it under water. 6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the next candle. 7) Set alarm clock for one hour while the candles burn. 8) After one hour come back and blow out the candles. 9) Right after you blow out the candles, use the wood end of a match to stick into the melted wax of the candle until it hits solid wax.

Procedure (continued) 10) Repeat step 8 for the next candle but with a different match. 11) Measure how much melted wax is in each candle by measuring how high the wax goes up on the match. 12) Record data. 13) Repeat steps 3-12 for the next two candles. 14) Dispose of trash properly.

Constant Variables. The brand of candles used. The brand of matches used. The amount of time the candles burned. The way the candles were lit. The place the candles were lit.

Independent Variable The color of the candle. Dependant Variable The amount of wax melted.

Our results. Trial 1 2 Colored candle 1 cm. 1.5 cm Un-colored candle Average 0.95 cm. 1.25 cm.

Conclusion. After our experiment, we concluded that they burned about the same but colored candles did burn quicker. However, it would take further testing to conclude if this is actually true. It could have just been a coincidence that the colored ones burned faster in our two trials.