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Use of the fuels:

Wood Used in camp fires in developed countries, vital fuel for
cooking and heating in developing countries

Coal Used in power stations and for heating some homes in

country districts
Coke Used in the extraction of iron from its ore
Charcoal Used in cooking food on barbeques
Oil Used in power stations and in some home and factories
for heating
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Use of the fuels:

Diesel oil Used in trucks and some cars
Petrol Used in most cars, all motorbikes and some
lawnmowers
Natural gas Used in some power stations, for heating many
homes and for cooking
Wax For candles to provide light or to keep meals warm
on a dining table
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l8D6DsRDYk&t=17s (4:30)

Products of hydrocarbon combustion experiment

Investigating a burning candle
A candle can be used to investigate
how fuels burn.
• Investigation 1: If a burning candle
is put under a thistle funnel
attached to the apparatus and the
suction pump is switched on, a
liquid collects in the U-tube and
the limewater turns cloudy. When
the liquid is tested with cobalt
chloride paper, the paper turns
from blue to pink. This shows that
the liquid is water. The cloudiness
in the limewater indicates that
carbon dioxide has passed into it.
• Investigation 2: If a beaker is placed over a burning candle, the candle will burn for a while and
then go out. A change has taken place in the air that makes it incapable of letting things burn in it.
The test for oxygen is made by plunging a glowing splint of wood into the gas being tested. If the
gas is oxygen, the splint bursts into flame. When air from around the burned-out candle is tested
for oxygen, the glowing splint goes out. This indicates that oxygen is no longer present. The
oxygen in the air under the beaker has been used up by the burning candle.
• From the information provided by these two investigations with candles, the following word
equation can be sent out:
• Natural gas is a hydrocarbon called methane. When it burns, it breaks
down exactly like the hydrocarbons in candle wax. The word equation
for this reaction is:

• Both of these word equations are examples of complete combustion.

This only happens when there is enough oxygen available.
The danger of incomplete combustion
• If there is insufficient oxygen to support complete combustion, incomplete
combustion takes place. Carbon monoxide is a very dangerous chemical
produced by incomplete combustion. It is produced instead of carbon
dioxide. Carbon monoxide is produced in car engines and is released in the
exhaust fumes.
• In complete combustion also occurs when a gas fire has been incorrectly
fitted and cannot draw enough oxygen from the room it is heating. Carbon
monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas so you do not know when it is
being produced. If it is breathed in, it stops the blood taking up oxygen and
circulating it round the body.
• People have died from breathing carbon monoxide from badly fitted gas
fires. All gas fires must be fitted by a trained engineer and used in a well-
ventilated room so that there is enough air passing through the fire to
provide oxygen for complete combustion of the gas.
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8. What happens to the carbon in
natural gas when the gas burns in a
badly fitted gas fire?
○ The carbon does not form carbon dioxide
but form carbon monoxide, as a result of
incomplete combustion – there is not
enough air passing through the fire to
provide sufficient oxygen for complete
combustion of the methane gas
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9. Which fuels would you take on a

camping trip? Explain your choices.
○ Natural gas could be used for cooking – a
large amount of fuel can be packed into
a small space, and the fuel has a low
density so it is not heavy to carry. Wax, in
the form of candles, could be used for
lighting