The Candle Life

Heather and her friend Queena did their science project as a team this year. They decided to find out if the temperature of a candle affected how long it took the candle to burn, or melt.

They used birthday cake candles to conduct their experiment. They divided two boxes of candles into nine even groups. Each group was stored at a different temperature for a different length of time immediately prior to being lit.

Candles were stored as follows:

- Candles were stored in the freezer for 1 hour.

- Candles were stored in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

- Candles were stored at room temperature for 1 hour.

- Candles were stored in the freezer for 2 hours.
- Candles were stored in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Candles were stored at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Candles were stored in the freezer for 3 hours.
- Candles were stored in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
- Candles were stored at room temperature for 3 hours.

The girls thought the candles stored in the freezer would take longer to melt because the wax would be really cold.

To test their hypothesis, they burned one set of candles at a time and recorded how long it took for the candles to burn, or melt, to nothing but a puddle of wax. Then they determined which batch of candles took the longest period of time to melt. Do you think their hypothesis was correct?

Heather and her science fair board. They took 3rd place. Great job, girls!