Catching Fire: Colin, Jade, Xavier

Abstract
This experiment is meant to compare densities of different woods, so that if
You did find yourself lost in the woods, you wood know which wood, indigenous to this area to
find and use for fire kindling. In this experiment we find the density of each wood type, the time it
took to ignite the wood, the burn time of the wood type, and the highest temperature point
reached. We calculate how much energy was used by measuring the wood before and after,
and then compare all these factors to find the most efficient wood for burning in a cold winter
climate. The results of our experiment imply that oak is the most efficient wood for burning but
we'll talk about that later.

Introduction:
Our inspiration for this project is surviving in the wilderness by finding the best wood to burn for
a fire. How we are doing that is buy testing the burn time initial ignition and heat output. Some
important terms for this experiment are heat, density, efficiency.

Heat:
Heat is a form of energy that is associated with the movement of atoms and molecules in
different material. The higher the temperature of materials, the faster the atoms are moving, and
hence the greater the amount of energy present as heat.
Density:
Density is a measure of mass per volume.
Efficiency:
Efficiency in science is the ratio of the energy delivered by a machine to the energy needed in
operating the machine.

Research:

How does the density of matter affect the potential energy? It affects the potential energy by
having pressure of an object and storing energy. The shape of the object can affect how much
potential energy.
What does the wood look like on a microscopic level?

This picture reminds me of cardboard, you can see the way that there is space for oxygen to
flow through the holes in the wood. Its like layers were just built up, which makes sense with the
way that trees grow with rings. The less dense the wood is, the more holes it has in it. In a tree
trunk, all the tissue inside the cambium layer to the center of the tree is xylem or wood.

What makes something flammable?

When something burns it becomes rapidly oxidized. So oxygen attaches to the material and
changes it to a different material. Energy is required for this process. Some materials are easy
to oxidize and some are difficult. Some materials are only flammable in a particular form of
matter.

Question:
What type of wood indigenous to our region is the most efficient for creating a fire in a cold
winter environment?

Hypothesis:
The less dense the material, the shorter the initial ignition, and the shorter the actual burn time.
Materials:
Poplar
Oak
Pine
Three pieces of paper
Lighter
Container to set up fire in
Thermocouple
timer
Methods:
1. First, we measured the density of of our wood types by measuring the volume, and the
mass.
2. Then we measured the mass of an empty can.
3. Then, we took seven pieces of our thinly sliced wood and one piece of paper and set it
up in a controlled fire pit, in a pyramid shape.
4. Then, we made sure our timer was on, because the first test is to find initial ignition time
in our wood.
5. Then we had one of our group members hold the thermocouple to the pyramid of wood.
6. Next, we lit the wood and timed the amount of time it took for the first piece to catch on
fire.
7. Then, we found the highest point of temperature in the flame with the thermocouple
while making sure our timer is measuring how long the flame burned.
8. After the flame died, we took the leftover wood, and placed it into the can, and measured
the mass after burning the wood, than subtracted the mass of the can originally.
9. We then compared the results.

Measuring the volume and mass of wood:

Calculating the density of wood:

Conducting experiment:

Discussion:
The results of this experiment are shaky but I am very confident on them. The results from this
experiment were different due to different pieces of wood and long is would take for the first
piece of wood to catch on fire and that was around the 20s to the 30s seconds, the highest
temp of the fire, reached, full burn time, and all of those were different due to different kinds of
wood being poplar, oak, and pine. My results into this experiment, I feel that are very solid but
the part where we were just a bit shaky were where we measured the temp and the highest
point it reached and possibly went up a few degrees, because the wire that we were measuring
the temp might have not been in the hottest spot in the fire.

This experiment was done because so we were stuck in the middle of the woods and need to
make a fire, we would know what kind of wood to use weather it would be the dense wood or
less dense. The expected results were the less dense the material, the shorter the initial
ignition, and the shorter the actual burn time. Logically, oak was the most effective wood for
starting and maintaining a fire in a cold environment, because it took a moderately low amount
of time to start, burned the longest, producing the most heat. I think this is because it has the
median density so it can contain enough energy to maintain a fire, but it has enough oxygen in it
to allow air flow for a fire.

Wood measurements:

Pine measurements:
Mass: 50 grams
Volume: 90 cm cubed
Density: 1 grams per 1.8 centimeters cubed

Oak measurements:
Mass: 48 grams
Volume: 90 cm cubed
Density:1 gram per 1,875 cm cubed

Poplar measurements:
Mass: 46 grams
volume : 90 cm cubed
Density: 1 gram per 1.956 cm cubed

Results
So, because our hypothesis was that (The less dense the material, the shorter the initial
ignition, and the shorter the actual burn time), we will be evaluating our data based on that.

The least dense wood was poplar and it took 22.4 seconds to light the first piece, and 5
minutes and 22 seconds to burn all the way until the end, and the highest point of heat output
reached was 725 degrees.
 The wood that was the median density was oak. It took 29 seconds to light the first piece
of wood. It burned for 7 minutes and 7 seconds. And the highest temperature reached was 877
degrees.

The wood that was the most dense was pine. Pine took 33.4 seconds to light, and
burned for 6 minutes and 51 seconds. The highest temperature reached was 854 degrees.

Type of Wood: Initial Ignition: Burn time: Heat output: Density:

Poplar 37 seconds 5.22 minutes 725 degrees 1 g per 1.96cm

cubed

Oak 24 seconds 7.07 minutes 857 degrees 1 g per 1.87cm

cubed

Pine 33.4 seconds 6.51 minutes 854 degrees 1 g per 1.8cm

cubed

Our data concludes that the least dense wood did indeed light the fastest, making it the
easiest to make a fire with in the wild, but it was the least efficient in actual burn time, and
intensity of the fire. Out of all of the wood types we assessed, oak burned the longest, lit the
fastest and was the most effective in heat output, so if you ever find yourself in a region
indigenous to oak, use that wood to build your fire.

Our experiment was definitely rocky at first, as most group projects tend to be, but after
changing a few original plans to meet our group's goal, it turned out ok. We first, wanted to use
two coffee cans as our containers for the flame, but when that didnt work extremely well, we
turned to a metal bowl, which was actually easier in the long run. The first day we were
conducting our experiment, the poplar and oak wouldnt light, so we had to adjust the materials
we were utilizing to fit the cold environment we were testing in.