Fire Triangle Lab
Name: __________________________
3rd grade PSI
-----------------------------------------------Activity/Lab Question:
What does fire need to be survive?
Before You Begin:
Fire needs three ingredients in order to start or to be maintained.
If you take any of these ingredients away, the fire will go out.
These three ingredients are often referred to as the Fire Triangle.
In this lab, you will use your observation skills to determine the
three components of the fire triangle.
Based on your previous knowledge, what hypotheses do you
have concerning the fire triangle? What do you think fire needs to
survive?
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3rd Grade PSI
Natural Hazards
Purpose:
During this experiment, you will investigate the ingredients
necessary to maintain a fire.
Materials (per group):
 A small ball of play-doh or modeling clay
 2 small birthday candles
 Matches (to be used by teacher only)
 Tall glass or beaker
 Small spray bottle filled with water
Procedure: Set-up
1. Flatten the ball of clay with your hand. Push the candle down
into the middle of the clay so that it is able to stand by itself.
Procedure: Ingredient #1
1. Wait until your teacher lights your candle.
2. While the candle is lit, place the glass over top of the candle.
What happens?
3. Answer Analysis questions #1-2.
Procedure: Ingredient #2
1. Wait until the teacher lights your candle.
2. Spray the flame with the water in the spray bottle. What
happens?
3. Answer Analysis questions #3-4.
Procedure: Ingredient #3
1. Wait until the teacher lights your candle.
2. Observe what happens when you do nothing to the flame.
What eventually happens?
3. Answer Analysis questions #5-6.
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3rd Grade PSI
Natural Hazards
Analysis
1. What happened when you covered the candle with the
glass?
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2. What did you take away from the fire when you did this?
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3. What happened when you sprayed the flame with water?
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4. What did you take away from the fire when you did this?
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5. What happened when you did nothing to the flame?
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6. Why did the flame eventually go out? What did it lose?
________________________________________________
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3rd Grade PSI
Natural Hazards
Conclusion
1. Based on the information you learned from this experiment,
what are the three components of the fire triangle?
1. __________________________
2. __________________________
3. __________________________
2. Critical Thinking: Suppose that there is a wildfire burning in a
forest near your house. What methods do you think
firefighters can use to eliminate each component of the fire
triangle in order to stop the fire?
Component: _____________________________________
How to eliminate it: ________________________________
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Component: ______________________________________
How to eliminate it: ________________________________
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Component: ______________________________________
How to eliminate it: ________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
www.njctl.org
3rd Grade PSI
Natural Hazards