Science Inquiry Huff and Puff

Forming a Question or Hypothesis Title: Huff and Puff Question: If I don’t exhale and exhale into a jar placed over a lit candle, how will the amount of CO2 affect the length of time a flame will burn?

Background cont. List of concepts: CO 2 - O 2 cycle Fire Joseph Priestly Exhale Definitions and explanation of science concepts that fit your topic (using your own words) Provide plenty of examples with explanations Science concepts need to connect (not just a list of definitions) Personal experience with concepts

Background cont. [What do you already know/or research about the topic] Background: I know that fire needs ignition to start burning. Fire needs a fuel source to burn. Fire also needs oxygen to burn. Fire gives off CO 2, heat, smoke and light. The color of the flame is determined by the temperature. The size of the flame is determined by the amount of oxygen and the fuel source. To put a fire out you take away the oxygen by smothering with water, chemicals or solid objects.

Background cont. Fire has some of the same properties or requirements as animals because both need oxygen and give off CO 2. Joseph Priestly proved the CO 2 - O 2 cycle by experimenting with mice. He found a mouse will die in a closed container without oxygen even when given food and water. He put a living plant in with the mouse and the mouse survived, because the plant gave off oxygen for the mouse. The mouse helped the plant by giving off CO2 which the plant took and used to survive. The cycle continued.

Background cont. Exhaling is when an animal breathes out. The main gas given off in exhaling is CO 2. So plants and animals depend on each other. My personal experience with the CO 2 - O 2 cycle is breathing oxygen and exhaling CO 2. Also the demonstration in class shows that fire needs oxygen to burn because when a jar is placed over a lit candle the flame will go out because there is no oxygen. Also one time we went camping and leaves on the campfire smothered the flames and caused lots of smoke.

Hypothesis Hypothesis: (If … (what you are testing) then (prediction of what will happen/ choose one) because… (science reason why / based on facts from the hypothesis). If I don’t exhale or exhale into a jar placed over a lit candle then exhaling into the jar will go out faster because exhaling adds CO 2 instead of oxygen in the jar and fire needs oxygen to burn.

Designing an Investigation List all materials Be specific in amounts Use metrics Materials: Tea light candle clayPetri dish Matches stopwatchgoggles Jar- quart waterpaper towels

Designing cont. List of numbered steps – down the side of the page Logical and detailed Identify control and variable (where they belong in the procedures) Safety procedures - (where they belong in the procedures / not at the end) Multiple trials if needed (average results) Procedures: 1. Flatten a piece of clay, large enough for a jar, on the table. 2. Place a tea light candle in the center of the clay.

Designing cont. 3. Put goggles on for safety. 4. Use a match to light the candle. Caution: when lighting matches keep sleeves, hair, fingers and objects away from the flame. 5. Shake or blow out the match and put the match into the Petri dish. Be careful not to drop the match. (Relight the candle if needed.)

Designing cont. 6. At the same time turn the jar upside down over the lit candle and start the stopwatch. When placing jar over the candle, press the jar into the clay to make a seal. This is the control (no extra CO 2 ). 7. Make observations about the flame. Record in observation section. Remember to use details.

Designing cont. 8. Time until the flame goes out. Record time in seconds in the data table. 9. Remove the jar from the candle. 10. Carefully rinse and dry the jar. Caution: use glassware safety.

Designing cont. 11. Repeat steps two more time for a total of three trials for accuracy. 12. Find the average of the three trials: add all three numbers and divide by three. Record on the data table. 13. Use a match; relight the candle placed on the clay. Caution: remember fire safety.

Designing cont. 14. Shake or blow out the match, and place the match in the petri dish. 15. Exhale one long breath into the jar. Exhaling adds CO 2 which is the variable. 16. Quickly place the jar upside down over the clay and press into the clay to seal.

Designing cont. 17. At the same time, start the stopwatch. Note: relight and try again if the flame goes out. 18. Make observations. Record in Observation section/ be detailed. 19. Time until the flame goes out. Record time in seconds in the data table.

Designing cont. 20. Rinse and dry the jar. Caution: remember glass safety. 21. Repeat steps 13 – 20 for two more trials. Be careful to use the same amount of exhaled breath each time. 22. Average the three exhale trials. Record in data table.

Designing cont. 23. Clean up and put away materials except Petri dish of used matches (teacher will dispose of them). Caution: be careful of hot wax. 24. Compare results of no exhale and exhale trials, and make a bar graph showing trials, and averages.

Collecting and Presenting Collecting and Presenting Data: Things to consider when setting up a data table –Title –Column headings –Trials –How many trials do I need for control and variables? –Do I need a row for averages? –If drawing your own data table use a ruler –Use and label metric units –Accurate calculations

Collecting and Presenting Data Table: Time until Flame Out Trials Not Exhale (control) Exhale (variable) Average (1+2+3/ 3 = ave.

Collecting and Presenting Things to consider for written observations Use five senses (when appropriate) Do NOT include numbers (these numbers are already in the data table) Use varied descriptive words Written Observations: Not Exhale (control) Trial1: ____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Trial 2: ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Trial 3: ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Collect and Presenting cont. Exhale (variable) Trial 1: ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Trial 2: ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Trial 3: ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Collecting and Presenting cont. Diagrams: draw, label and color Graph: attach a graph Title Label axis Color Neatness Accuracy

Analyzing and Interpreting Analyzing and Interpreting Results: (each question should be there own paragraph, use each question as the beginning of your new paragraph) 1. How did you set up your experiment? What did you do in your procedures? Summarize in a couple of sentences what you did in the experiment. Do not rewrite your procedures. 2. What are the results? What do the numbers tell you about what happened? (Take data from your data table – summarize the numbers (use words like… highest, lowest, average, slowest, fastest…) draw conclusions / what do the numbers tell you? Do not just list the numbers from the data table. The reader can already find this information in data tables and graphs. Use science words and concepts correctly to explain. 3. Answer the Inquiry Question (yes go back and reread your question). Was your hypothesis correct or not/ WHY? (be sure to go back and read your hypothesis too) Give an explanation using science words and concepts correctly.

Analyzing and Interpreting 4. What errors or faults occurred in your experiment that would effect the results of your lab? List the things that went wrong, not what could have happened. If there were no errors state that there were no errors. 5. Explain what you learned about the science concepts we are studying. List two or three things; explain what you learned about the topic of your experiment. 6. How does this experiment apply to the real world? What part of your experiment shows what could happen in the “real world”. How does this tie in to real life? 7. What other measurable questions could be explored based on experimental findings? What other variable could we try to prove same thing?

Analyzing and Interpreting Conclusion: To solve the problem of what effect exhaled air full of CO 2 gas has on the length of time a flame will burn, we set up an experiment to test the question. We tested both not exhaling and exhaling into a jar placed over a lit candle and recorded time for the flame to go out.

Analyzing and Interpreting My results showed that no exhaled breath had a flame time out time of ______________ seconds. The exhaling test had an average flame time out time of ________ seconds. This is a difference of ____________ seconds longer burning time for not exhaling. The results show me that not exhaling allows the flame to burn longer, because flames need oxygen to burn. Exhaling into the jar forces out the needed oxygen molecules and replaces them with CO 2. If you add CO 2 by exhaling the flames go out more quickly.

Analyzing and Interpreting cont. My hypothesis was true; the flame went out quicker with the exhaled CO 2, because there was not enough oxygen, which flames need to burn.

Analyzing and Interpreting cont. Some errors that affected my results we that I could have used a larger breath when exhaling instead of keeping the breaths the same; this would have put more CO 2 into to the jar. Another error was when I lifted the jar before the flame was completely out adding oxygen which allowed the flame to burn longer. Also CO 2 could have built up inside the jar in between each trial.

Analyzing and Interpreting cont. I learned by doing this experiment that flames – like animals- need oxygen and give off CO 2, so when there are high levels of CO 2 present in the jar the flames goes out quicker. Also carbon dioxide and oxygen work in a continuous cycle.

Analyzing and Interpreting cont. This experiment applies to the real world by showing that if there is a fire you can put the flame out by cutting off the oxygen which the fire needs to burn. Also, I learned that plants and animals need each other for CO 2 - O 2 and I proved the CO 2 - O 2 cycle just like Joseph Priestly showed in his studies but I did not have to hurt any animals.

Analyzing and Interpreting cont. Another experiment I could try to prove the CO 2 - O 2 cycle would be to add a live plant with the candle or not seal the jar which would let in some oxygen.