The Floating Candle Experiment (By J.P.)

When I was the P.Y.P. Very Important Person I wanted to bring an experiment into the class to show my friends. My mom and I looked for an experiment on the Internet and we found one that was about a candle.

The materials I needed were: a candle, bowl, water (with food color), and a glass.

Instructions:

1.    Pour some water into a bowl that can hold water. (I added blue food color to the water to make it easier to see).

2.    Place a lighted candle in the bowl (have an adult do this part).

3.    After lighting the candle, turn a glass upside down onto the bowl.

4.    Watch the water level. What happens?

Explanation: The water level goes up! The candle makes the air hot and the heat makes it expand (get bigger). When the flame goes out, the air gets cold and “shrinks”, and a “vacuum” is made. This vacuum (or air pressure) makes the water get “sucked up” inside the glass!

It was cool showing my classmates this experiment because they didn't know that the candle was going to float! After the first time, they wanted to do it again and again! Watch the video to see for yourself.