Candle Observation Essay

Based on this experiment, the rate at which a birthday candle burns is 0.1368 grams per minute. Observation showed the decrease in mass through the melting of the wax. The evidence was shown in the beaker with cold water, in which the melted was collected. The data collected supported the observation in the decrease of mass. As the time the candle was burned increased, the mass of the candle decreased. The graph demonstrates this relationship through the negative slope. Using the graph, the time at which the candle would completely burn off would be eight minutes, because that is the x-intercept in this graph. The equation of the graph can also be used to calculate the mass of the candle after singing “Happy Birthday”. In order to calculate

In order for a set of data to be accurate, there needs to be another set of data from prior researchers that was concluded to be the only correct rate at which a birthday candle burns. Also, the data from this experiment cannot be identified as being precise, because if this experiment were to be repeated, due to the experimental error, the results would not be exact from the first time the experiment was performed. The first most important step of the procedure for data collection is the time that was recorded after lighting the candle. The time was important, because time was a factor in determining the answer to the experimental question, which was the rate at which the candle burns. Recording the time accurately is significant to the final results, because if the time was not recorded in this experiment, it would be impossible to answer the experimental question. The second step that contributed to data collection was the massing of the candle. If it wasn’t done properly, the rate of the burning candle would have been slightly off. These two steps were the most important in gathering the data, because the time and the mass were both needed in order to calculate the