Transcript Slide 1

Does the Scent of a Candle Affect
the Amount of Energy Released?
Hannah Sisk
Academy of Notre Dame
Hypothesis
• The scent of a candle will affect the
amount of energy released.
• Scented candles will produce more
energy than un-scented candles.
– Scented candles include more ingredients
than un-scented candles, therefore
containing more substances to be released
while burning.
Materials
• 4 unscented candles (“white”)
• 4 Vanilla Cookie (“yellow”) scented candles
• 4 Pomegranate (“red”) scented candles
• 4 Mid-Summer’s Night (“black”) scented candles
• Can (large enough to hold 400. mL of liquid)
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Larger can ( 15 ½ cm diameter), open at both ends
Duct tape
6.40 x 103 mL distilled water
Temperature probe (or thermometer)
• Ring stand
• Candle lighter
Procedure
1.
Wrap duct tape around both cans until completely covered for
insulation.
2. Measure 400.mL distilled water
3. Pour into smaller can.
4. Place can in ring stand.
5. Place temperature probe into water and record the temperature.
6. Place an un-scented candle below the suspended can so that,
when lit, the candle’s flame will be about 2 cm below the can.
7. Take the larger can and place around the suspended can and unscented candle for insulation.
8. Light the candle using the “candle lighter”
9. Continue to record the rising temperature for 10 minutes
(recording the temperature every 15 seconds).
10. After the ten minutes of burning, blow out candle
11. Record the final temperature.
12. Repeat 1-11 for each candle (4 candles of each scent, so 4 times
for each different scent).
Apparatus
Calculations
• Heat transferred in a reaction is equal in magnitude, but
opposite in sign to the heat absorbed by the
surroundings
qsur = m x C x (Tf – Ti)
qsur - heat absorbed by surroundings
m – mass of water (g)
C – specific heat of water (1 calorie/g.oC)
Tf – final temperature of water (oC)
Ti – initial temperature of water (oC)
• Joule Conversion
1 joule =(number of calories)(4.184)
T-Test Results
Set of Data
Being
Compared
Results
Unscented to
Yellow
0.001141 =
<.05
Unscented to
Red
0.000825 =
<.05
Unscented to
Black
0.010677 =
<.05
This table shows the results from the T-tests, comparing
the unscented candles to each, different group of scented
candles. Notice that each one of the results is less than .05
(some even lower than .001). This suggests that there is a
significant difference between each data pair.
Limitations
• Only four candles were tested for each scent
– T-TEST works best with five or more data points
• Some heat was lost during the process
– Apparatus construction
Further Studies
• test more scents
• compare colored, unscented candles to white, unscented ones.
• compare energy released from unscented-colored candles, to
candles of the same color, but scented.
Conclusion
• Partial Support of Hypothesis
– Scent does affect heat given off
– Unscented candles give off more heat in a
shorter period of time than scented ones
do (contradicts hypothesis)
Resources
•
Arnold, Brian (2003, September 22). Energy and energy changes. The Hutchinson
Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved November 13, 2005 from eLibrary
database.
•
Calorimetry. (1996). In Chemistry : connections to our changing world (pp.
393-396). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
•
Energy. (2003, December 1). Compton’s by Britannica. Retrieved November 13,
2005 from eLibrary database.
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Farabee, M., J. (2001). Laws of thermodynamics. Retrieved November 13, 2005
from http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookEner1.html
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The Free Dictionary (Calorimeter). (2005). Retrieved November 13, 2005 from
http://www.thefreedictonary.com/calorimeter
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Physics: heat and temperature. (1995, January 1). The New York Public Library
Science Desk Reference. Retrieved November 10, 2005 from eLibrary
database.
•
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Calorimeter) (2005 November 4, 2005). Retrieved
November 13, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorimeter