Chapter-6
Combustion and flame
1. List conditions under which combustion can take place.
Ans. Conditions under which combustion can take place are as follows:
a.Air or any other supply of oxygen.
b.Heat, to reach the,ignition temperature.
c.Fuel, maybe solid ,liquid or gas.
2. Fill in the blanks.
(a) Burning of wood and coal causes ______________ of air.
(b) A liquid fuel, used in home is ____________.
(c) Fuel must be heated to its ________________ before it starts burning.
(d) Fire produced by oil cannot be controlled by ____________.
Ans. Fill in the blanks.
(a) Burning of wood and coal causes pollution of air.
(b) A liquid fuel, used in home is LPG.
(c) Fuel must be heated to its ignition temperature before it starts burning.
(d) Fire produced by oil cannot be controlled by water.
3. Explain how the use of CNG in automobiles has reduced pollution in
our cities.
Ans. CNG produces harmful products like sulphur dioxide,oxides of nitrogen
etc. in very small amounts as compared to petrol and diesel. That is why
pollution in our cities is reduced by using CNG. CNG is a cleaner fuel.
4. Compare LPG and wood as fuels.
Ans. LPG burns easily and produces more heat in comparison to wood.
Besides, it is a clean fuel, it does not produce fume and ashes as wood do.
LPG can be stored and transported easily and conveniently.
5. Give reasons.
(a) Water is not used to control fires involving electrical equipment.
(b) LPG is a better domestic fuel than wood.
(c) Paper by itself catches fire easily whereas a piece of paper wrapped
around an aluminium pipe does not.
Ans. (a) Water is not used to control fire produced by electrical equipment
because water is a good conductor of electricity and may result in electric
shock to the person extinguishing the fire.
(b) LPG is a substance which is readily available. It is cheaper than wood and
burns easily in air at moderate rate. It does not produce fume and ashes as
wood do. Moreover LPG can be stored and transported easily and
conveniently.
(c) Paper catches fire easily because of its low ignition temperature, but when
it is wrapped around an aluminium pipe, the ignition temperature does not
meet as the heat supplied is transferred to the aluminium pipe leaving the
paper unburnt.
6. Make a labelled diagram of candle flame.
Ans.
7. Name the unit in which the calorific value of a fuel is expressed.
Ans. The calorific value of a fuel is expressed in kilojoule per kg (kJ/kg).
8. Explain how CO is able to control fires.
2
Ans. Carbon dioxide being heavier than oxygen covers the fire like a blanket.
Since the contact between fuel and oxygen is cut off, the fire is controlled.
Moreover it lowers down the temperature of the fuel. The added advantage of
carbon dioxide is that in most cases it does not harm the electrical appliances.
9. It is difficult to burn a heap of green leaves but dry leaves catch fire
easily. Explain.
Ans. Green leaves contain lots of water. So, when we try to burn green
leaves, water contained in the leaves cools the combustible materials, so that
its temperature is brought below its ignition temperature. This prevents the
burning of green leaves.
In case of dry leaves, water is absent in them so burning process start as the
temperature is raised above the ignition temperature and the leaves catch fire
easily.
10. Which zone of a flame does a goldsmith use for melting gold and
silver and why?
Ans. The goldsmith uses the outermost zone of a flame with a metallic blow
pipe for melting gold and silver.
The flame in outermost zone has the highest temperature and provides
sufficient amount of heat to melt gold and silver.
11. In an experiment 4.5 kg of a fuel was completely burnt. The heat
produced was measured to be 180,000 kJ. Calculate the calorific value of
the fuel.
Ans. Calorific value of a fuel = Total heat produced/total mass burnt.
Here, mass of fuel = 4.5 kg.
Heat produced = 180,000 kJ.
Therefore, calorific value of fuel = 180,000/4.5kg = 40,000 kJ/kg.
12. Can the process of rusting be called combustion? Discuss.
Ans. The process of rusting cannot be called combustion due to the
following reasons:
No energy is released in the process of rusting.
Combustion is a process in which a combustible substance reacts with
oxygen to produce heat and light whereas in rusting a metal reacts with
oxygen to form a metal oxide.
Rusting is a very slow process as compared to combustion.
Rusting takes place at room temperature whereas combustion takes
place at specific ignition temperature.
13. Abida and Ramesh were doing an experiment in which water was to
be heated in a beaker. Abida kept the beaker near the wick in the yellow
part of the candle flame. Ramesh kept the beaker in the outermost part
of the flame. Whose water will get heated in a shorter time?
Ans. The water of Ramesh’s beaker will get heated in a shorter time because
the outermost part of the flame is the hottest.
