1. Combustion: Burning is a process called combustion. It is a chemical reaction that occurs when a substance reacts with oxygen to produce heat and light.

2. The Fire Triangle: To burn, three things are needed. These are often represented as a triangle: fuel, heat, and oxygen. If any of these is missing, a fire cannot burn.

3. Fuel: Fuel is the substance that burns. It can be anything from wood and paper to gasoline and natural gas. In everyday life, we often see fuel in the form of wood in a campfire or gasoline in a car’s engine.

4. Oxygen: Oxygen is a gas that makes up a part of the air we breathe. It is crucial for burning because it combines with the fuel in a chemical reaction. Without oxygen, the fire cannot continue.

5. Heat: Heat is needed to start the combustion process. Once a fire begins, it can sustain itself as long as there’s enough fuel and oxygen, creating more heat.

6. Chemical Reaction: When fuel and oxygen combine with heat, they undergo a chemical reaction. This reaction releases energy in the form of heat and light. This is what we see as a flame.

7. Examples: Common examples of combustion include lighting a match, burning a candle, or starting a campfire. In all these cases, fuel, heat, and oxygen are present.

Experiment

• Cover the burning candle with a glass jar. After few minutes the candle is extinguished. As the supply of air is stopped due to glass jar the burning of candle is also stopped. This experiment proves that air supports burning.

8. Extinguishing Fires: Fires can be extinguished by removing one or more elements of the fire triangle. For example, a fire can be put out by smothering it to remove oxygen or by cooling it to remove heat.

Let’s practice!