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The liquid wax moves up the oil slowly due to capillary action. Capillary action occurs because of the adhesive and cohesive forces between the liquid wax and the oil, causing the liquid to move in opposition to gravity. This movement is more pronounced in narrow spaces like the wick of a candle.
A lava lamp moves slowly because the heat source at the bottom of the lamp needs time to warm up the wax and make it rise, creating the flowing motion. The viscosity of the wax also affects how quickly it moves within the lamp.
As the solid candle melts to a liquid, the particles gain energy and move more quickly. This increased movement causes the particles to break away from their fixed positions in the solid structure, allowing them to flow and take on the shape of the container.
As in most substances, solid wax is more dense than liquid wax. Density, by definition, is mass divided by volume. If the volume is smaller, meaning less space occupied, than the density increases. In a solid, the temperature lowers, the molecules have less energy and are less active. Therefore, they take up less space, equalling a smaller volume. Small volume, more density.
The heat flows from the wax to the surroundings, as the wax loses energy and transitions from a liquid to a solid state. This process releases heat to the surroundings, causing the wax to solidify.
During the burning of a candle, the physical change is the melting of the wax and the solid wax turning into liquid wax. The chemical change is the reaction between the liquid wax and oxygen in the air, leading to combustion and the production of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and heat.