The Great Candle Experiment

This experiment is often done and is always a lot of fun.  During this science lesson it promoted a lot of discussion about what we thought was happening.

What to do:

1. Stick a candle onto a plate with plasticine.
2. Pour some coloured water onto the plate.
3. Light the candle.
4. Carefully lower a jar over the top.
5. Observe what happens.

What we observed:

• The water was slowly sucked into the jar.
• The candle slowly went out.
• When the candle went out the smoke went straight up.
• When the candle went out lots of water was quickly sucked up into the jar.
• There were some bubbles around the jar as the water was sucked in.

Carefully lower the jar over the candle.

What can you see happening?

This small candle burnt for a long time.

Wow - lots of the water has been sucked up into the jar.

This little candle worked the best.

We could see some bubbles around the jar.

Click on this link to find out why this happens.