Question

What is the chemical equation for a wax candle reacting with oxygen?

Answer 1

The chemical elements that make up a candle normally end up being hydrocarbons (hydrogen+carbon). From the question we can understand that the reactant side has to have oxygen and the chemical formula for a candle. Also, oxidation is the chemical reaction that occurs when oxygen reacts with another element.

Complete answer:
The residue from the process of refining paraffin wax is normally utilized to form candles. The common chemical composition of this wax consists of hydrogen and carbon which means they are formed from hydrocarbons who’s general form looks like ${C_n}{H_m}$.
The hydrocarbons when placed in oxygen undergoes a complete chemical reaction of a certain general format;
${C_n}{H_m} + {O_2} \to (\dfrac{m}{2}){H_2}O + nC{O_2}$
This is because here complete oxidation takes place to yield water and carbon dioxide.
Now we know that candle’s composition is a hydrocarbon let it be ${C_{25}}{H_{52}}$ where $n = 25,m = 52$, since it is the commonly utilized chemical composition for candles made of paraffin wax.
So substituting the hydrocarbon within the general equation of reaction with oxygen, we get;
$\Rightarrow {C_{25}}{H_{52}} + {O_2} \to (\dfrac{{52}}{2}){H_2}O + 25C{O_2}$
$\Rightarrow {C_{25}}{H_{52}} + {O_2} \to 26{H_2}O + 25C{O_2}$
So therefore the final reaction in oxygen for any candle will be: ${C_{25}}{H_{52}} + {O_2} \to 26{H_2}O + 25C{O_2}$

Additional Information:
Some properties of candle wax which can be kept in mind are;
- We know that candle wax melts as soon as the wick of a candle is lit and so its melting point is only slightly above the temperature of the room.
- It is not very viscous or resistant to the fluid that moves within it.

Note:
As a candle is made up of wax when its wick is lit, some part of the wax that can be found around the wick of the candle converts into vapor. In such a process of heating, the wax will also melt into its liquid state but goes back to being a solid once cooled down. Hence when burning of a candle takes place we see that it would probably be a chemical change whilst the melting of it can be classified as a physical change.