My aim in this experiment was to discover which of the Bunsen burner flames were the hottest, the yellow safe flame or the blue flame.

Safety

Normal laboratory safety conditions applied.

During this experiment other safety precautions were adhered to.  Goggles were worn at all times and hair was tied back.  There was no sitting during this experiment.  All hot items were handled with care and caution.  

Results

Conclusion

We used the Bunsen burner first with a yellow flame and then with a blue flame to heat 200ml of water in a 600ml capacity beaker from a start temperature of 30°C to an end temperature of 60°C.   A thermometer was used to measure the temperature of the water and a stopwatch to time how long it took to heat the water from 30°C to 60°C.  This was done four times, twice with a yellow flame and twice with a blue flame.  My results showed that it took 215 seconds and 188 seconds to heat 200ml of water from 30°C to 60°C with a yellow flame and it took 229 seconds and 181 seconds to heat 200ml of water from 30°C to 60°C.  These results do not prove which was the hotter flame and remain inconclusive.

Evaluation

During this experiment no one was hurt and everything went well.  No conclusion can be drawn on the results that were taken.  The reason for the results being inconclusive could be due to the fact the peak (hottest part) of the yellow flame was very close to the gauze and the peak of the blue flame was further away.  So the heat was concentrated close to the beaker with the water in it with the yellow flame and the heat was concentrated further away from the beaker with the water in it with the blue flame.  To get a more accurate result the test needed to be repeated several more times but time was limited and I could only repeat the test four times which means that I could not get an accurate average result for the blue or the yellow flame tests.