Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am conducting an experiment on different colored candles and which one would burn faster between them. I have to include my control and variable in the explanation and I am unclear what those would be. If I am burning four candles made of the same wax and of the same manufacturer what would the control and variable be? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

One of the biggest "controls" you can provide in this experiment is to make sure the candles are indeed made from the same wax. You said they are, but you need to provide some evidence that is the case.

Another "control" you need to have is to make sure they each have the same wick material and wick length. That has a lot to do with how candles burn.

You also will need to "control" the movement of air around them. A candle in a breeze will burn faster than one in still air. I suggest you try to experiment with this one on your own.

Your main "variable" is color. That is what you are "varying" in your experiment. If you do not "control" the air flow around the candles, then this could become another "variable".

I hope this clears things up for you, and that you have fun with this experiment!

I am actually doing the same project you are doing. Hmm, with this project, I would Take out the Number of three candles so I can do three tests on them. Then I would record the data on a data chart, and take some pictures of it to prove that I sucessfully Did the project on "Colored Candels". Good Luck! ^_^!

-NanoNanoPudding