Hooked on Science: Orange flash

Did you know the tasty orange many of you love to eat for a healthy snack is flammable? Adult supervision is recommended for this experiment.

Materials

* Orange

* Candle

* Saucer

* Grill lighter

Instructions

STEP 1: Peel the orange.

STEP 2: Place the candle on a saucer and using the grill lighter, ignite the candle.

STEP 3: Hold a piece of the peeling with the outside of the peeling close to the flame and squeeze.

Explanation

The orange peeling contains oil. This oil gives an orange its smell and is flammable. As you squeeze the peeling the oil squirts into the flame creating a flash. This oil is used in flavoring, insecticides, air fresheners and cleaning products.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.