Combustion of hydrogen in air

A single orange flame against a black background

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Try this demonstration or class experiment to investigate how varying amounts of fuel and oxygen affect combustion. Includes kit list and safety instructions.

In this experiment, students observe what happens when test tubes containing three different proportions of hydrogen and air are ignited. Students note the loudness of the resulting explosions (‘pops’), relating this, at least in part, to the amount of energy produced when the hydrogen is burnt.

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