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What is Fire?

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Basics on the topic What is Fire?

What is fire? How would our lives be different without it? In this video, you can we learn about one of the basic elements: fire.

Transcript What is Fire?

Oh! Uma has baked a cake for the birthday boy! Do you want to light the candles, Uma? But it looks like Uma has no fire. Have you ever thought about... The Meaning of "Fire" and asked yourself how our lives would be different without it? Fire is like air (...), water (...) and earth (...) an important basic element. Without these basic materials, life on earth would hardly be possible. Even though the sun is not a fireball - because to burn, it would need much more oxygen - it creates warmth and light on earth. The sun is really hot. At it's center, it's over TEN THOUSAND degrees Farenheit! It's a good thing that we are almost a hundred million miles from the sun. This keeps us pleasantly warm here Sometimes though, it gets really hot... and that can be dangerous. The heat from the sun can cause dryness on earth, for example, in the forest. If grass and leaves are too dry from the sun, they only need a little spark (...) and a forest fire can break out. However, fire can also be caused by lightning or volcanic eruptions. A long time ago, fire seemed threatening to the people who lived with it. But, at some point they learned that fire can be very useful for them as well. They made fire circles with wood, and this changed things for them. They learned to understand, and control the fire (...) ...but what did they do when that fire eventually goes out? Did they need to wait for lightning to strike a tree? At first, they really did. Then, they learned that they could make a SPARK by hitting two rocks together. One of them was flint and the other was pyrite two types of rocks that when you collide them... make SPARKS With this, people coud start their OWN fires. As people learned more about fire, more possibilities were created to use it. The fire plow for example, is a wooden stick that is put on a board and turned quickly between your hands. The board on the bottom has a small indent, which is where the stick is placed. This is important, because it helps to create heat and wood dust... and eventually fire! The bow drill works similarly. Instead of using hands, a bow and cord is used. The rod can rotate much faster this way, and doesn't take long before fire erupts! Much much later, specifically in eighteen twenty-three, the first lighter was invented by a German chemist. Only four years later, an English pharmacist invented the match. Today we even use candle lighters. Well, did they light the candles on the cake yet? Before we take a look, let's see a summary of the evolution of fire. We started by learning about fires in forests (..) and ended with a lighter! The birthday boy has already blown out the candles by now (...) right? What are they waiting for? Lightning to spark their candles? Well, they will be waiting for a while then! And anyways (...) if it starts lightning (...) they should probably head inside. But you knew that!

What is Fire? exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learned? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the video What is Fire?.
  • What are the basic elements?

    Hints

    The ocean is an example of one of the elements.

    Wind is an example of one of the elements.

    Solution

    The basic elements are: earth, air, fire, and water.

  • What are some ways that a fire can happen in nature?

    Hints

    The sun can dry out grass and leaves, and with a little spark, a fire can break out.

    These two stones can start a fire when rubbed together.

    Solution

    Fires can happen in nature from:

    • volcanic eruptions
    • lightning striking a tree
    • sun dried forests breaking out in fires from a little spark
    • colliding flint and pyrite stones together

  • How has our view of fire changed over time?

    Hints

    In early days, people were scared of fire until they learned how to properly use it.

    Today, people can use a lighter, match, or candle lighter.

    Solution

    Using fire has evolved, or changed over time, from early people learning how to use it, to modern inventions today that use it. This picture shows the evolution of fire as:

    • fire occurring naturally
    • early people using the fire
    • people learning how to make fire themselves with flint and pyrite stones
    • modern inventions using fire, such as the lighter

  • What are some fire inventions?

    Hints

    A fire invention is an object that was made to help start a fire.

    A fire invention is an object that makes it easier to use the fire for what you want to do, such as using a candle lighter to light a candle.

    Solution

    Some fire inventions are:
    *flint and pyrite to make fire
    *bow drill
    *fire plow
    *match
    *lighter
    *candle lighter

  • What are some ways that fire can be used?

    Hints

    How is fire being used here?

    What can be used to light a candle?

    Solution

    Fire can be used for:

    • cooking
    • campfire
    • to light with a candle lighter or lighter

  • Identify the ways people can make and use fire.

    Hints

    Are these people using or making a fire?

    Are these people using or making a fire?

    There are four ways to make fire and three ways to use fire.

    Solution

    This image shows some ways that you can make and use fire.