In this Activity, students compare the combustion of substances such as a glowing wooden toothpick and a lit birthday candle in air, oxygen, exhaled breath, and carbon dioxide environments. The oxygen and carbon dioxide gases are generated in glass bottles using household chemicals. Oxygen is generated using chlorine bleach and 3% hydrogen peroxide; carbon dioxide is generated using baking soda and 5% vinegar. The Activity can be used to explore the chemistry of oxygen and combustion, and may be used to illustrate reaction kinetics, in particular the effect of reactant (oxygen) concentration on the apparent rate of a combustion reaction.
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