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Question:

Give reasons (a) Water is not used to control fires involving electrical equipment. (b) LPG is a better domestic fuel than wood. (c) Paper by itself catches fire easily whereas a piece of paper wrapped around an aluminium pipe does not.

Solution:

(a) Water is a conductor of electricity, so it can easily conduct electric current and cause danger of electric shocks or short-circuits. Therefore, water cannot be used to control the fire involving electrical equipment. (b) LPG is a better domestic fuel as it does not produce smoke and unburnt carbon particles, which cause respiratory problems. (c) Paper by itself catches fire easily because it has a low ignition temperature, but when wrapped around an aluminium pipe its temperature is lowered due to aluminium metal absorbing the heat supplied to the paper. So it does not catch fire.