Question

The combustion of candles, containing paraffin wax, to carbon dioxide and water vapor, is:
A.Sublimation as well as chemical reaction with oxygen
B.Only sublimation.
C.Not sublimation but chemical reaction with oxygen
D.None of these

Answer 1

Hint: The wax is made of hydrocarbons and we know that candles are made of wax. This implies that it is made up of compounds that dangle from the backbone with a carbon backbone and hydrogen atoms. Gasoline, propane, and even products such as paper and plant matter are mainly composed of hydrocarbon type compounds are other examples of hydrocarbons.

Complete step by step answer:
By producing heat, candles create light, so they are crude examples of what we call incandescent lamps, a much more advanced version of the same concept is old-fashioned, electric filament lamps, invented by Thomas Edison in the late 19th century. All the light a candle produces comes from a chemical reaction known as combustion, in which the wax reacts with oxygen in the air to create a colorless gas called carbon dioxide (made from carbon-based chemicals usually derived from petroleum).

So, In general, the burning of candles containing paraffin wax, carbon dioxide, and water vapor is not sublimation, but a chemical reaction with oxygen.

Hence, option C is the right answer..

Note:
Waxes are characterized primarily by their physical characteristics, not by their chemical properties. We may think of wax as a complex blend of fatty organic chemicals that have wax-like properties for our purposes:
It has a comparatively small melting point above room temperature (50 ° to 90 ° C) and melts above 40 ° C without decomposition.
Just above the freezing point, it has a relatively low viscosity.
It has no viscoelasticity (it deforms after a force is applied and eventually returns to shape).
While burning, the fire is very hot which makes wax actually transforms from solid to steam. It will be the wax vapor which is really a part of the chemical reaction here.