Arwen McKinney
Mrs. Stevens
Life Science
31 January 2018
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to light a crayon on fire? When I was a
child, I would accidentally leave crayons outside, resulting in a big mess of melted crayons.
Because of this, I wanted to burn crayons and see which color would burn faster than the others.
If I burn the basic 8 color crayons (red, yellow, green, blue, brown, black, orange and purple),
then I think the black will burn faster than the other colors.
The paper of the crayon is used as a wick, allowing the crayon to burn slow like a candle.
Crayons are made out of paraffin wax, which is used in candles (Mikkelson). Darker crayons
absorb the heat faster than lighter crayons making them burn faster (fun). Large molecules of
paraffin will “cling” to each other in a way that’s similar to butter. When heat is introduced, the
The heat of the flame vaporizes the wax turning it into a gas (Woodford). The heat from
the wick melts the wax and the flame vaporizes the wax molecules and they react with the
oxygen. As the wax is consumed, capillary action draws more liquid wax along the wick and the
wick will leave no ash or wax residue as long as the wax doesn’t melt away from the flame
(Helmenstine). The heat breaks down hydrocarbons into molecules of hydrogen and carbon
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(Woodford). The heat maintains the reaction by vaporizing the wax so it can burn and containing
it to create fuel (Helmenstine). The vaporized molecules are drawn up into flame where they mix
with oxygen and create heat, light, water vapor, and carbon dioxide (Woodford).
What Causes Objects to Change State? Why Does the Candle go From a Solid to a Liquid and
Finally a Gas?
When lighting a candle, only the wax in or near the wick will burn. The wick in the
candle absorbs the liquid wax pulling the flame upward. The heat vaporizes the wax, meaning,
it's really the wax vapor that burns. When you blow out a candle, the white stream of smoke is
paraffin vapor that condenses to a visible form. The more paraffin vapor, the longer the stream
will be. The wick does not burn because the vaporizing wax burns the wick (how does).
What is Paraffin Wax? And Other Than Making Crayons, What is it Used For?
Paraffin wax is petroleum by-product that is created from the sludge waste when crude
oil is refined into gasoline. The wax also causes soot, which is the black stuff from the flame
(Riter). Paraffin wax is used for wax treatment at spas and salons. It is used as heat therapy for
people with rheumatic diseases (Forester). It is used on vegetables, fruits and candy to slow
down the process of them rotting. Paraffin wax is used to seal jams or jellies and is used in
chocolate to make it edible and able to remain a solid at room temperature, although not all
Paraffin wax is melted and mixed together with measured amounts of color pigment. The
color pigments are either used individually or mixed together (how are crayons). Powder
pigments are used to color crayons and are made without water and instead mix with the paraffin
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wax because the products in the wax don’t mix with water. The powder pigments may be used
with water but will get dried out with filters made to remove the water. Chunks are left behind
called “kiln-dried” and are combined with other pigment chunks to create a specific colors. The
chunks are then pulverized into a fine powder which is used to put into the crayons. A darker
A warming tray works best for melting crayons (Solga). Take the paper off of the crayons
and cut it into pieces. When using a pot, boil water and put a glass bowl in the pot to melt the
crayons in. When microwaving, put in microwave safe container and microwave for 2 minutes
but take out the container every thirty seconds to stir. When using an oven, preheat oven to 200
degrees ferinhight. Put crayon pieces on baking tin or silicone mold, and bake for up to 10 to 15
minutes (wikiHow)
I hypothesized that, If I melt the basic 8 color crayons (red, yellow, green, blue, brown,
black, orange and purple), then I think the black will melt faster than the other colors. The
brown crayons took approximately two to three minutes to burn, making it the fastest crayon that
burned. The red took from seven to nine, the orange took around seven minutes, the first yellow
crayon took twenty-four minutes and the second one took eight minutes. The first blue crayon
took six minutes and the second took two, the first purple crayon took around five minutes and
the second took twelve, then the first black crayon took twenty-two minutes while the second
took about fifteen. If you burn crayons, brown ones will burn fastest.
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Works Cited
Federbusch, Zoe. “The Melting Of Crayons.” Prezi.com, Prezi Inc., 6 June 2013,
prezi.com/nbsgvun2n187/the-melting-of-crayons/.
Forester, Elizabeth. “Paraffin Wax Treatments.” Benefits of Paraffin Wax - Benefits of Paraffin
health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/problems/treating/paraffin-wax-trea
“Fun Science: Melting Crayons.” Fun Science UK, 17 Oct. 2017, fun-science.org.uk/fun-s
Helmenstine, Ph.D. Anne Marie. “Find out Where Candle Wax Goes When A Candle
“How Are Crayons Manufactured and What Are the Basic Ingredients?” Crayola.com, Crayola,
www.crayola.com/faq/your-business/how-are-crayons-manufactured-and-what-are-the-ba
sic-ingredients/.
“How Does a Candle Work?” How Does a Candle Work? | HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 1
www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/crayoncandle.asp
Riter, Sherry. “The Truth About Paraffin Wax Candles – Are They Toxic?” The Redhead Riter
www.theredheadriter.com/2012/03/the-truth-about-paraffin-wax-candles-are-they-toxic/.
www.innovateus.net/innopedia/what-paraffin-wax-used.
www.wikihow.com/Melt-Crayons.