Bunsen Burner Lab:

Tools of the Physical Scientist

Background: Often a chemist needs to heat materials. The Bunsen Burner is one

of the most efficient ways of doing this. Burners come in a variety of designs
but
most operate by the combustion of gas with air to produce a hot flame.
A properly adjusted flame consist of two cones; an outer light blue and
an inner

dark blue cone. The inner cone is the hottest part of the flame because
fuel
combustion is most complete here. The outer cone is light blue in color and
not as
hot as the inner cone. There is also a base cone; a dark cone in the interio
r of
the flame. This is where gases mix before they start to burn.
Occasionally you will need to use a yellow flame. This is produced by
shutting off most of the air supply. With little air in the fuel mixture, the
gas
burns incompletely. Unburned carbon in the flame glows to produce the
yellow color. This type of flame deposits soot on objects placed in it. bo not
use a yellow flame unless instructed to do so.

Purpose: In this investigation you will learn the parts of the Bunsen burner
and

their functions. You will also learn how to light and adjust a burner flame
and to
locate the hottest part of the flame through a series of experiments.

Parts of the Bunsen Burner:

A. Barrel

where gas and air are mixed

B. Collar adjust the air intake
C, Air intake openings air enters here
b. Gas Flow Valve regulates flow of gas
(can also be controlled from table gas valve)
E. Gas intake tube gas enters burner from
table source.
F. Base supports burner
-

Materials:
striker
250 mL beaker
evaporating dish
paper clip

Bunsen Burner
100 mL graduated cylinder
copper wire
crucible tongs

support stand with ring

digital thermometer
match stick

Procedures:
Part 1 Examining the Bunsen Burner
1. Unscrew the barrel (or burner tube) from
the base and locate the parts shown in the
figure. Think about their functions.
There is a gas inlet (pin hole) at the top of
the base. Natural gas and air mix in the tube,
and this mixture is ignited at the top of the
tube.
2. The burner is attached to the house supply of gas by rubber tubin
g. Inspect
the rubber tubing for cracks or tears; if the tubing is defective requ
,
est
new tubing from your instructor.

The gas flow to the burner inlet is regulated at the gas jet to
which the
burner is attached. The jet is closed when the handle above it is
perpendicular to the jet. It is fully open when the handle is turne
d so the at
is is parallelto the jet. Gas flows throug the attached hose to
the burner
base. The amount of gas entering the burner is regulated by the
needle
valve at the base of the burner, If the valve is closed, gas flow
is stopped.
If the valvue is open, gas will pass through the valve and travel up
the burner
tube.
The striker is used to light the burner. Check the striker to
see if it sparks.
If it does not, it may need a new flint which you can get from
your
instructor.

3. Reassemble the Bunsen burner and connect the tube

to the gas outlet. Close
the needle valve and air intake. Put on safety goggles.
Make sure that the
burner is away from all flammable materials.
Part 2 Lighting the Burner:
1. To light the burner, open the needle valve one to thre
e turns and turn the
handle parallel with the gas nozzle. Bring the striker
to the side and just
above the top of the barrel. Hold it at a 450 angle and strik
e. Repeat
striking, if necessary. If the burner doesnt light afte
r several strikes, turn
the gas off at the source. The problem may be insufficie
nt gas flow. Repeat
the above steps but this time open the needle valve anot
her turn.(you should
be able to hear the gas)
2. Adjust the collar so that the flame is pale blue and
a dark blue inner cone is
visible. (see the flame diagram) Your flame should be
no more than 3-4 cm.

Parts of the Flame

A Base of flame
B Tip of inside blue cone

B
A

Part 3 The Hottest Part of the Flame

1. Hold a piece of copper wire with crucible tongs.
Lower the copper wire into
the tip of the outer cone. Record your observations.
2. Slowly lower the wire into the tip of the inner blue
cone. Record your
observations.
3. Last, lower the wire to the base of the barrel. Reco
rd your observations.
4. Hold an evaporating dish with the crucible tongs
and hold it over the flame
for several seconds, up to a minute. Observe what happ
ens to the dish.
5. Turn the barrel until the air intake is totally close
d off. Observe what
happens to the flame.
6. Repeat step four with the air intake closed. Record
your observations.

7. Hold the copper wire in the yellow flame. 1ecord

your observations.
8. Open the air valve back up until you once again have
a blue flame. Turn the
Bunsen Burner off.
9. Assemble the match stick and paper clip.
fLamc
Lay the paper clip over top the barrel so the
base of the match stick is inside of the barrel.
of
h
4
-r
10. Light the Bunsen Burner. Allow the match stick
rJ
to remain in the barrel for about 20-30 seconds.
447-cH
1ecord your observations.
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Part 4 The Experiment

1. Set up the support stand, ring, and wire screen
as shown in the photos.
2. Position the ring clamp so that the beaker is at
the base of the flame
(Position A).
3. Put lOOmL of water into the beaker and record
the starting temperature of
the water on your data sheet.
4. Heat the water for 2 minutes recording the
temperature every 15 seconds.
5. lepeat this procedure for positions B, C, and usin
b
g fresh water each time.
lecord all data.

Position A
(base of flame)

Position B
(tip of inner blue flame)

Position C
(top of flame)

Position b
(2 cm above flame)

bata Charts
Copper wire outer cone
Copper wire inner cone
Copper wire air intake closed
Evaporating dish air intake open
Evaporating dish air intake closed
Match stick

Starting
Temp

15 sec

30 sec

45 sec

60 sec

75 sec

90 sec

105 sec

120 sec

B
C

Analysis and Summary Questions

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Graph your data for all four positions. Label each line.
What are the two components necessary for combust
ion to occur?
If you completely close the air intake, what color will
your flame be?
What type of flame is the coolest, the luminous (yell
ow) flame or the non
luminous (blue) flame? How did you determine this?
What part of the blue flame is the coolest? How did
you determine this?
What part of the blue flame is the hottest? How did
you determine this?
How hot do you believe this part of the flame is?(*hint:
copper wire)
What happened to the blue flame when the copper wire
was held in the
hottest part? What happened to the copper wire at
this time?
What type of flame do you think is best for heating
in the lab? Why?
Why didnt the match light when it was placed in the
Bunsen Burner?
What caused the evaporating dish to turn black when
heated?