Caution: Ask an adult to set the fuel on fire so you can start the timer. Choose a place like a garage to burn the fuel. Gasoline and Diesel will smell and produce thick dark smoke.

Experiment 1 - The burning time

1. Prepare three glass bowls
2. Cut 1 inch of gauze and fold it into a square
3. Put square gauze pieces at the bottom of the bowl and measure 2 mL of each fuel into three separate glass bowls
4. Make sure the fuel soaks fully into the gauze (you might need to make adjustments to choose the exact amount of gauze and amount of fuel it soaks)
5. Set the soaked gauze on fire using matches
6. Start the stop watch the moment the fuel is burning
7. Measure the amount of time it takes the fuel to burn until the flame stops completely
8. Take down the time and observe colour of flame, fumes and residue left on the bowl

Experiment 2 - Energy released to create difference in water temperature

1. Prepare three glass bowls
2. Cut 3 inches of gauze and fold it into a square
3. Put square gauze pieces at the bottom of the bowl and measure 7 mL of each fuel into three separate glass bowls
4. Make sure the fuel soaks fully into the gauze (you might need to make adjustments to choose the exact amount of gauze and amount of fuel it soaks)
5. Measure 100 mL of water into aluminium pie pans
6. Take the initial measure of temperature of the water (it is best to keep it at room temperature)
7. Set the soaked gauze on fire using matches
8. Immediately set aluminium pie pans filled with water on top of the glass bowls using a wire mesh net to support water in a pan above the burning flame
9. Keep the water above the flame at a distance of one inch so the flame doesn't die
10. Submerge the thermometer in the water and watch the mercury rise up
11. Make note of the highest temperature the water reached until the flame dies out completely
12. Calculate the difference between the initial and highest water temperature and note it in your observations

Experiment 3 A - Content of carbon dioxide in fumes (using BTB)

1. Prepare three aluminium pie pans
2. Prepare test tubes with 4 mL of water and 3 drops of BTB
3. Cut a small square of gauze (1 cm x 1 cm)
4. Put gauze piece at the bottom of the pan
5. Soak the gauze with 2 drops of each fuel
6. Connect the funnel to the big syringe (piston type syringe) with tape to make it sealed 7. Set a funnel connected to the syringe on top of the pan
8. Light the gauze soaked in fuel with a match
9. Collect the fumes by sucking 100 mL of fumes into the syringe
10. Transfer the fumes into the test tubes with water and BTB
11. Close the test tubes and shake well
12. Observe the colour change

Note: Water with BTB has a yellow colour. When carbon dioxide is detected water changes colour to blue

Experiment 3 B -Content of carbon dioxide in fumes (using carbon dioxide detection tubes)

1. Prepare three aluminium pie pans
2. Cut a small square of gauze (1 cm x 1 cm)
3. Put gauze piece at the bottom of the pan
4. Soak the gauze with 2 drops of each fuel
5. Connect the funnel to the big syringe (piston type syringe) with tape to make it sealed
6. Set a funnel connected to the syringe on top of the pan
7. Light the gauze soaked in fuel with a match
8. Collect the fumes by sucking 100 mL of fumes into the syringe
9. Break both end pieces of the glass gas detection tubes
10. Connect the syringe to the glass gas detection tube
11. Push in 5 ML of fumes into the glass tube
12. Read the results for carbon dioxide content off the scale on a tube

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