***PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS EXPERIMENT***

Things You Know:

• Fuel (ethanol)
• Oxygen
• Heat source (match)

So That's How It Works:

The ethanol in the bottle needs to turn into a gas, so that the oxygen and ethanol can mix together. The ethanol vapor explosion demonstrates that things expand when they get hot, and contract when they get cold. However, instead of just being heated, the ethanol actually burns. Ethanol is a kind of alcohol made from plants. When something burns, it changes from one chemical to another. When ethanol burns, it mixes with oxygen in the air to make water vapor and carbon dioxide. The bottle collapses as the hot gas cools off and contracts.

How does this relate to your car?

You may know that some cars can run on ethanol instead of gasoline and you're only left with carbon dioxide and water, instead of exhaust which includes things like hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. A car engine works the same way as the explosion in the bottle. Gasoline or ethanol comes into the engine and mixes with oxygen. A spark from the spark plug lights the mixture, causing an explosion. This forces the piston out. The pistons are attached to the wheels, which turn to make the car go. The explosion in the bottle is like one cylinder of your cars engine.

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