Mae's Real Stories

Place a candle in a container -- here, a plastic box. Surround the candle with water, but be sure that the wick is in the air. Light the candle.


Cover the candle with a glass or a jar that you can see through. Tilt the glass a little bit so that the water can go up into it.

As the candle burns, the water rises in the jar. The water rises to replace the used-up oxygen. The flame goes out when it has used up all the oxygen in the jar. This happens very fast. It's a little hard to see in the pictures how much the water has risen, but it comes up to the square part of the jar, and it's much higher than the level of the water in the plastic box.

Try this yourself (with a grownup to help) and you will see how the water rises very quickly and then the candle goes out. It makes a little sucking sound when the water rises.