Making sparklers is an exciting activity that vividly
demonstrates the energy released in chemical reactions. Carefully
weigh the following 10.0
g iron powder 0.5
g magnesium powder 2.0
g aluminium powder 6.0
g potassium powder 25
g barium nitrate Place
6.0 grams of soluble starch in a 100 ml beaker. Add 15 ml of warm water and
stir into a thick paste. Add the mixture of the above chemicals to the
starch. Role the mixture into a long cylindrical shape. Allow it to dry
overnight on bench top. When
dry use a lighter to ignite it.
Keep students at least 5 metres away. Only ignite the mixture outdoors. The
chemicals used are reactive and small hot pieces of metal will shoot into
the air. Proper eye protection should be worn. The
nitrates and chlorates decompose on
heating to produce oxygen gas. This oxygen gas ignites the metals and
shoots them out. Write
the equations below in the form of a proper balanced chemical equations. Aluminium
and Oxygen gas àAluminium oxide Al
+ O2 à Al2O3
(Balance this equation now) Magnesium
and Oxygen gas à Magnesium oxide (MgO) Iron
and oxygen gas à iron oxide (Fe2O3) Barium
nitrate à Barium Oxide (BaO) +
Oxygen gas (O2)
Making sparklers