Science Project: Burning Various Substances

Introduction This experiment was designed to discover the how paper and other materials burned. The research question is: “What added material makes paper burn fastest?” My hypothesis was that gasoline would burn up the fastest. The experiment includes soaking toilet paper squares in various materials and burning them to see which burns the best.
Research
Paper itself burns well, that is a common known fact. Gasoline, rubbing alcohol, and petroleum jelly also are widely known as highly flammable. Gasoline is a petroleum product that is found in many forms. Most forms are mixtures of over 150 compounds.(Gasoline, 2001) Rubbing alcohol is the generic name for either isopropyl or ethyl alcohol and is commonly sold diluted with water to 68-99% alcohol. (Rubbing alcohol-Wikipedia, 2011) It must bear a flammability warning on the bottle. Petroleum jelly has a flash point of 400°F and its fumes burn when it’s heated to a liquid. This requires a wick. Other materials that were mentioned with flammability information were Maalox, sulfuric acid, and bleach. Maalox in the dusts of the tablet form can form explosive mixtures. (Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., 2002) Sulfuric acid itself has a flammability rating of 0 yet it reacts with most metals to produce flammable hydrogen gas. (Sulfuric Acid, 2003) Bleach can mix with dry chemical fire extinguishing agents containing ammonium compounds and form an explosive compound. (Bleach, 2008) There was no flammability information on the rest of the materials.

Materials
• Matches
• Toilet Paper
• Gasoline
• Petroleum Jelly
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Maalox (liquid formula)
• Bleach
• Lemon Juice
• Sulfuric Acid
• Miracle Grow (prepared as 1 tbs. powder / 1 gal water)
• Oil Wood Soap
Methods
1. Put three squares of toilet paper in each material.
2. Light the samples along with 3 control squares with the matches.
3. Observe and record how much paper was burnt in what time. The experiment will observe how

Bibliography: Gasoline. (2001, 7 24). Retrieved 10 7, 2011, from Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp72-c3.pdf Sulfuric Acid. (2003, 10 21). Retrieved 10 7, 2011, from Colonial Chemical Company: http://colonial-chemical.com/pdfs/sulfmsds.pdf Bleach. (2008, 9 4). Retrieved 10 7, 2011, from Qmax Solutions, Inc.: http://www.qmaxsolutions.com/Files/ContentVersionFile/47105/bleach.pdf Rubbing alcohol-Wikipedia. (2011, 11 8). Retrieved 10 7, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubbing_alcohol Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. (2002, 7 8). Maalox. Retrieved 10 7, 2011, from Grand Rapids Community College: http://web.grcc.edu/Pr/msds/fordfieldhouse/Maalox.pdf