This experiment is for advanced students.


Brimstone is another name for sulfur, and if you’ve ever smelled it burn…..whoa….I’m telling you ….you will see for yourself in this lab. It is quite a smell, for sure. Sulfur is element #6 on the periodic table. Sulfur is used in fertilizer, black powder, matches, and insecticides. In pioneer times sulfur was put into patent medicines and used as a laxative.


To further the evil reputation of sulfur, or brimstone, when sulfur is burned in a coal fired power plant, sulfur dioxide is produced. The sulfur is spewed into the air, where it is reacts with moisture in the air to form sulfuric acid. The clouds get full and need to let go of this sulfuric acid. Down comes the acid rain to wreak havoc on the masonry and plant life below.


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Materials:


  • Goggles
  • Gloves
  • Measuring spoon
  • Sulfur (MSDS)
  • Alcohol burner
  • Lighter
  • Test tube of O2

Be careful when bending the ends of your measuring spoon. Bend them where you need them and leave them alone. Continuing to bend, straighten, and re-bend will weaken the metal and cause your measuring spoon to break. We will do this experiment to compare the flames produced by burning sulfur in air and oxygen


C3000: Experiments: 36,60


Download Student Worksheet & Exercises


Here’s what’s going on in this experiment:


S + O2 –> SO2


Sulfur and oxygen are heated and sulfur dioxide is produced. This is a synthesis reaction because the sulfur and the oxygen react and form a new substance, sulfur dioxide. We see the flame of sulfur dioxide burn in air. Small flame, little smoke. When the flame is left lit and placed in the oxygen, the flame flares up and lots of white smoke is generated. It appears that sulfur’s flame burns brighter and stronger in pure oxygen.


Cleanup: We are going to clean everything thoroughly after we finish the lab. After cleaning with soap and water, rinse thoroughly. Chemists use the rule of “three” in cleaning glassware and tools. After washing, chemists rinse out all visible soap and then rinse three times more.


Storage: Place cleaned tools and glassware in their respective storage places.


Disposal: Liquids can be washed down the drain. Solids are thrown in the trash.


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Click here to go to next lesson on Displacement Reactions.


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Comments

4 Responses to “Burning Sulfur”

  1. Wonderful! I am still putting on the final touches to the chemistry course, but the shopping list is ready to go. Please note – you don’t have to do ALL the experiments to get a great science education! I would pick and choose the experiments you want to do, or just get the C3000 for starters and if your student(s) really want to do more, then you can add on more experiments later int he year. I really tried to get “everything all in one box” (that’s how Unit 8 started out, and also Unit 15) but unfortunately, the manufacturers kept changing what they include in the box, so now it’s near impossible to get everything from just one order click.

  2. Lisa Pearson says:

    I am looking ahead at the advanced chemistry course for high school this year. Trying to gather everything from the materials list so that we are ready to go.

  3. You can make your own oxygen doing one of several experiments. Just do a search here for “generating oxygen” and you’ll find one. Are you working through the C3000 manual? It will tell you specifically how this is done.

  4. Lisa Pearson says:

    Where do I get a test tube of Oxygen? I didn’t see anything on the master materials list that looked like this.