The Science of Combustion: Fueling Our World!

Have you ever wondered how a candle burns, how a car engine works or why fireworks explode in dazzling colours? The answer lies in combustion!

Combustion is a chemical reaction where a fuel reacts with oxygen to release energy in the form of heat and light. This process is also known as burning. It’s why a match lights up, why wood burns in a fireplace and even why our bodies can use food for energy.

The Fire Triangle:

For combustion to happen, three things are needed:

Fuel – A substance that burns, like wood, petrol or gas.

Oxygen – Usually from the air.

Heat – A spark or flame to start the reaction.

If you remove any one of these, combustion stops. This is why firefighters use water to cool fires or foam to cut off oxygen.

Types of Combustion:

Complete Combustion – When there is plenty of oxygen, fuel burns fully, producing carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) with a blue flame and lots of energy.

Incomplete Combustion – When there isn’t enough oxygen, it produces carbon monoxide (CO) (a dangerous gas) and soot (carbon). This creates a yellow flame and less energy.

Combustion in Year 9:

Year 9 have been studying this and using molymods to model the reactions and what the different products can be. By using molymods, this allowed them to understand how the atoms get rearranged and the conservation of mass works, allowing them to balance chemical equations. 

Mr Dean

Science Department

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