Flame Day in AP Chem
by George Flatau, HS chemistry teacher, science department chair
This video shows something we've been doing in Advanced Placement Chemistry class recently. Not everything we do is fun to watch, but this is.
This video shows something we've been doing in Advanced Placement Chemistry class recently. Not everything we do is fun to watch, but this is.
Wax is heated to boiling, which is past its flash point, the point at which it can combust without an ignition source. Trapped in the test tube, the wax lacks sufficient access to oxygen, so the test tube is plunged into cold water, shattering it. The water boils on contact with the hot tube and wax, vaporizing some of the water into steam. The steam ejects the wax out of the tube, where it has far greater surface area and access to oxygen. With high energy and access to oxygen, it bursts into flames. It's part of a demonstration of the power of surface area to affect rates of reaction.
Lycopodium powder is dried clubmoss spores. They have very high surface area (the powder is very fine) and relatively high fat content, making them highly flammable when the powder is spread into the air. If the powder is collected in one spot (such as in the bottle), it has low surface area, making it far less flammable and thus far safer.
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Lycopodium powder is dried clubmoss spores. They have very high surface area (the powder is very fine) and relatively high fat content, making them highly flammable when the powder is spread into the air. If the powder is collected in one spot (such as in the bottle), it has low surface area, making it far less flammable and thus far safer.
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2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.