Burning Sugar Cube

What you need

One sugar cube

Some ash, preferably from a fireplace

Matches

What you do

Place a sugar cube on a fireproof surface (an ashtray, for example). Try to set it on fire using a match. Now, rub some ash onto the cube, then set it on fire. What happens now?

What's going on here?

The sugar itself does not burn when held near flame. However, when you place the ash on the sugar cube, it burns with a blue flame. The ash acts as a catalyst and is not burned. What does catalyst mean? Find out by clicking there, but here's a brief explanation. During the course of a reaction, like burning sugar, some reactants need a lot of energy to react. In some cases, you might be able to just raise the temperature to do this. However, holding a match next to the sugar is not enough. This is where we use a catalyst. The ash performs this task. Some different metal ions in the ash help to speed up the reaction by lowering the energy needed to start the reaction.

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