Middle School

Earth, Space, & Environmental Sciences students recently spent time measuring the percentage of the Earth's atmosphere that is made up of oxygen gas. They had a birthday candle standing in a pan of water. They lit the candle and then inverted a glass tube over the candle. The flame would consume the oxygen and water would rise up in the tube to take its place. By comparing the amount of water pulled into the tube to the total volume of the tube, they could determine how much of the air was oxygen.