Combustion Teacher Resources
From flames sparked by lightning to atomic blasts, humans have both feared and gotten a charge out of all the forms of combustion, be it spontaneous, internal, or exothermic.Set fire to learners’ imaginations with activities, lesson plans, unit plans, videos, and interactive resources designed to spark the interest of all grade levels.
Your elementary scientists can conduct an experiment that reveals the importance of oxygen to combustion, while high schoolers study the heat associated with combustion and then develop their own biofuel. Use candles to study the enthalpy of combustion with a lesson that offers a safer alternative to the traditional enthalpy lab, or heat things up with a video that shows young chemists how to balance equations for combustion reactions. An interactive simulation permits middle schoolers to mix reactants like silver, tungsten, and sulfur.
Showing 155 resources
American Chemical Society
Preparation and Combustion of Biodiesel
The United States is the world's largest producer of biofuel. During an in-class investigation, young scientists produce their own biodiesel. They burn a sample of it to determine the heat of combustion. Then they discuss the...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Crank It Up!
Following this procedure, eager engineers construct a working model of a piston system, similar to that in an internal combustion engine. Perfect for STEM or automotive technology classes, the activity comes complete with analysis and...
Curated OER
Combustion Reaction
The details of a combustion reaction are described in this detailed video. Fantastic graphics and narration are included.
Curated OER
1999 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Part II
A variety of topics including reaction rates, combustion reactions, periodic trends, and ionization reactions are included in this exam. Test takers also practice calculating empirical and molecular formulas of compounds.
Curated OER
Laboratory: Observing a Candle
In this observation worksheet, scientists observe a burning candle and answer eight post-lab questions. Topics include the phase changes occurring during the observations, the role each part of the candle plays in the chemical reaction,...
Baylor College
Finding the Carbon in Sugar
In session one, demonstrate for your class how a flame eventually goes out when enclosed in a jar in order to teach that oxygen is required for combustion. In session two, class members then burn sugar in a spoon to observe how it...
Curated OER
Stoichiometry in the Real World
Real world chemical reactions are used as examples for teaching stoichiometry. Viewers work through air bag inflation, fat conversion to water in a camel, rocket fuel combustion, and carbon dioxide removal in spacecraft. Make...
Steve Spangler Science
Hydrogen Bubbles - Exploding Bubbles
The thinking, and science, behind hydrogen-powered cars is beautifully demonstrated in this episode. Spangler shows how, by itself, oxygen is not combustible. However, when some hydrogen gas is added, that changes! His assistant scoops...
Curated OER
Hydrogen Bubbles - Exploding Bubbles
The thinking, and science, behind hydrogen-powered cars is beautifully demonstrated in this episode. Spangler shows how, by itself, oxygen is not combustible. However, when some hydrogen gas is added, that changes! His assistant scoops...
Bozeman Science
The Importance of Oxygen
Wow, the human body is complex! The video explores the importance of oxygen, beginning with exploring why it is needed in combustion and then moving into an organism's need for oxygen. Learners see how glucose, when combined with oxygen,...
Teach Engineering
Wizardry and Chemistry
No need to go to Ollivanders to buy a magic wand. In the chemistry lab activity, young magicians mix chemicals to create combustible compounds. By applying these compounds to an iron wire, they create magic wands.
PhET
Reactants, Products and Leftovers
Did you know when you mix the reactants sulfur, tungsten, and silver, you get the products SWAg? The simulation begins with making sandwiches, to show pupils reactants and products of something familiar. They then can make water,...
Educreations
Writing & Balancing Combustion Equations
Heat things up in your high school chemistry class with a instructional video on combustion reactions. Starting off with a brief explanation of combustion and the different chemicals involved, this resource walks step by step...
Carnegie Mellon University
Transportation
Teach your environmental studies, life science, or engineering class how an internal combustion engine works using the first few slides of the accompanying presentation. Then, focus in on the resulting carbon emissions. Finally, take a...
Berkeley University of California
Hydrogen Combustion
Burn through a 46-second video to learn about hydrogen combustion. Viewers first learn the definition of a hydrocarbon in the video, and then discover that the products of combustion are water and carbon dioxide.
Teach Engineering
Combustion and Air Quality: Emissions Monitoring
Help your class determine the types of pollutants coming from vehicle exhaust. Groups use an air quality monitor to determine the emissions from different vehicles, to gain knowledge about combustion energy, and to predict how the...
Curated OER
Chemical Consequences of Burning Fossil Fuels
Future scientists are introduced to the chemical consequences of burning fossil fuels, learning that fossil fuel combustion leads to the formation of oxides of three nonmetals: carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, all of which end up in the...
Curated OER
WS 4.6 Types of Reactions
Somehow 55 chemistry problems have been squished onto a single page! Don't assume that it is a mess, however. High school chemists write the products for different types of reactions. Then they identify the type of reaction in addition...
Curated OER
BioFuels: The Chemistry and Economics of Alternative Fuels
Junior chemists manufacture biodiesel in the lab. In this exercise, they check the purity of the biodiesel using thin layer chromatography. They also calculate its density and heat of combustion. They are sure to rise to the...
Curated OER
Hybrid Vehicles: Cut Pollution and Save Money
Math and science meet in this lesson on hybrid electric automobiles. This 24-page resource provides everything you need for teaching a lesson that compares the use of internal combustion engines to hybrid electric engines. Participants...
Fuse School
Combustion and Incomplete Combustion
Compare the products of complete and incomplete combustion through a video investigation. Scholars compare the products of each process with a chemical analysis. They learn these products have significant environmental consequences.
Beyond Benign
Enthalpy of Combustion
Learn the facts about types of wax! Partnered pupils determine the enthalpy of combustion for traditional paraffin candles, as well as soy-based candles. The activity focuses on calculations and compares the environmental impact of both...
Curated OER
Oxidation
For an introductory physical class, you can use these vivid activities to introduce learners to chemical reactions. Spontaneous combustion, melting and burning, tarnishing and rusting all are evidence that a chemical reaction has...
Curated OER
Types of Reactions
In this reactions worksheet, students complete the given reactions by writing the products. Students do examples of composition, decomposition, single replacement, double replacement, and combustion reactions. This worksheet has 54...
