Real World Biology
Name: ________________
Wildfire Lab
Goal:
❏ Identify how fire behaves in different types of terrain.
Materials:
❏ 3 Dry Wood Toothpicks
❏ Lighter
❏ Ring Stand
❏ Clamps
❏ Timer (Phone)
❏ Beaker of water
❏ 1 Toothpick soaked in ethanol
Methods:
1. Attach the clamp to the ring stand and place a toothpick in the clamp so it is pointing down at about a
45 degree angle.
2. Light the free end of the toothpick and start the timer. Stop the timer when the toothpick is completely
burned. Record your findings in the table below. Put the burnt toothpick in the water to make sure it will
not start the garbage can on fire.
3. Attach another toothpick to the clamp this time in a horizontal position. Repeat Step Two.
4. Finally, place a toothpick in the clamp so the toothpick is at a 45 degree angle pointing up. Repeat Step
Two
5. Finally take the toothpick soaked in ethanol and clamp it in a horizontal position
6. Light it and time your
7. Clean up and answer the questions on the back of the page. Make sure to soak your toothpicks in the
water before you through them away so we do not start a fire.
Results:
Toothpick angle
45 Down
Horizontal
45 Up
Ethanol Soaked
Conclusion Questions:
1. Which toothpick burnt the fastest?
Created by: Eric Viall Ray High School, Ray ND
Time
2. Why did this toothpick burn the fastest?
3. Describe how each toothpick could show an example of different fire behavior in a landscape. Think
about mountains and plains.
4. How would air currents (wind) change the speed a fire moved?
5. Watch the demonstration by Mr. V. Why did the fire stop at the burned section of the toothpick? (Hint:
What part of the fire triangle was removed?)
6. What types of fuels does the toothpick soaked in ethanol represent?
7. How could resource managers use the information from the demonstration to change how they control
fire on the landscape?
Created by: Eric Viall Ray High School, Ray ND