Suppose you held a lighted match to a solid hunk of wood and another match to a pile of wood shavings. Which form of wood will catch fire more easily?

Question

hunk of wood
pile of wood shavings

Answer 1

The pile of wood shavings will catch fire more easily. Wood shavings have a higher surface area compared to a solid hunk of wood, allowing for a larger surface area to be exposed to the heat of the match. This increased surface area increases the likelihood of the wood shavings igniting and catching fire quickly. On the other hand, the solid hunk of wood has less surface area for the heat to transfer to, making it more difficult for it to catch fire compared to the wood shavings.