Chapter 5: Fire Behavior

Which of the following BEST describes how understanding the physical science of fire can help firefighter?

It translates into practical knowledge of fire behavior

Which of the following terms refers to a substance remaining chemically the same, but changing in size, shape or appearance?

Physical change

When a substance changes from one type of matter to another, it has had a:

Chemical reaction

Which of the following represents the amount of energy that an object can release in the future?

Potential

The energy possessed by a moving object is called:

Kinetic energy

The potential chemical energy of fuel in fire behavior is converted to:

Thermal energy

What type of reaction absorbs energy as it occurs?

Endothermic

What type of reaction releases energy in the form of heat and sometimes light?

Exothermic

The process of ignition causes pyrolysis in solid fuels and ___ in liquid fuels.

Vaporization

What is the most common form of ignition?

Piloted

What mode of combustion produces a smoldering glow in a material's surface?

Nonflaming

In what mode of combustion is a visible flame produced?

Flaming

What are the elements necessary to create fire in the model represented by the fire triangle?

Fuel, oxygen, heat

Which of the following BEST describes what the fire tetrahedron represents?

An uninhibited chemical chain reaction

What type of combustion occurs when burning is localized on or near a fuel's surface?

Nonflaming

What product of combustion may heat adjacent fuels, making them susceptible to ignition?

Thermal energy

What product of combustion causes the most fire deaths?

Toxic smoke

What product of combustion is the most common product in structure fires?

Carbon monoxide

Which of the following BEST describes why firefighters must use SCBA during overhaul?

Volume and density of smoke may be reduced, but the hazard is not eliminated.

Which of the following BEST describes kinetic energy transfer?

It moves from high-temperature to low-temperature substances.

What source of thermal energy is the most common source of heat in combustion reactions?

Chemical energy

Which of the following sources of energy is a form of oxidation?

Self-heating

What method of electrical energy occurs when a high-temperature luminous discharge crosses a gap?

Arcing

What method of heat transfer occurs when a material is heated as the result of direct contact with a heat source?

Conduction

What heat transfer method usually occurs through movement of hot smoke and fire gases?

Convection

What method of heat transfer can become the dominant mode as the fire grows in size?

Radiation

Which of the following BEST describes the influence of exposed surfaces on radiant heat?

Dark materials emit and absorb heat more effectively than light materials.

Which type of fuel does not contain carbon?

Inorganic

Which of the following terms is the total amount of energy released when a specific amount of fuel is burned?

Heat of combustion

Heat release rate is usually expressed in which of the following measurements?

Kilojoules/gram (kJ/g)

What type of fuel can be the most dangerous of all the types?

Gaseous

What type of the fuel has mass and volume but no definite shape?

Liquid

Liquids wit a specific gravity of less than 1 will:

Float on the surface

Which of the following BEST describes what vapor pressure indicates?

How easily a substance will evaporate

Which of the following terms is the minimum temperature at which a liquid gives off sufficient vapors to ignite, but still not sustain combustion?

Flash point

What term is used to describe the extent to which a substance will mix with water?

Solubility

What type of fuel has a definite size and shape?

Solid

Which of the following terms is used to refer to the process that can generate sufficient quantities of burnable vapors to ignite in the presence of a sufficient oxidizer?

Fire point

Fuel particles become smaller as the ratio of surface-to-mass:

Increases

The primary oxidizing agent is most fire is:

Oxygen

Which of the following BEST describes the impact of higher oxygen concentration on combustion?

Materials burn more intensely

What term defines the minimum concentration of fuel vapor and air that supports combustion?

Lower flammable limit

Which of the following BEST describes the complete oxidation of methane?

It produces carbon dioxide and water.

Which of the following BEST describes the impact of an extinguishing agent when trying to extinguish flaming combustion?

It interferes with the chemical reaction.

Which of the following fire development factors affects heat release rate?

Fuel type

What fire development factor is based on considering how the volume of air will impact radiated hear in a fire?

Compartment volume and ceiling height

What form of compartment fire is controlled by the availability of oxygen and the configuration of fuel?

Fuel-controlled

What thermal property of a compartment contains heat within the compartment, causing localized increase in temperature?

Insulation

What fire development factor includes cold temperature, strong winds, and wind direction?

Ambient conditions

In what stage is fire development largely dependent on the characteristics and configuration of the fuel involved?

Incipient

Which of the following affects the amount of air entrained in the plume during the growth stage?

Location of fuel package

Which of the following is defined as the tendency of gases to form into layers according to temperature?

Thermal layering

The neutral plane in the growth stage is the:

Opening in the hot and cool layers

Isolated flames in gas layer during the growth stage indicates:

That portions of the layer are within flammable range.

What stages of fire development occurs when all the combustible materials in a compartment are burning?

Fully developed

What fire stage occurs as the fuel is consumed and oxygen concentration falls?

Decay

What type of rapid fire development happens when all the combustible materials and gases in a compartment ignite almost simultaneously?

Flashover

What common element of flashover represents the shift from growth stage to fully developed stage?

Transition in fire development

Which of the following is a heat indicator of a possible flashover?

Darkening smoke

The ignition of unburned fire gases at the top of the compartment is known as:

Rollover

What aspect of fire development is a result of an increase in low-level ventilation prior to upper level ventilation?

Backdraft

Which of the following is a building indicator for a possible backdraft?

Fire confined to a void space

Which of the fallowing is a heat indicator of a possible backdraft?

Smoke stained windows

What type of rapid fire development occurs as unburned fuel gases contact an ignition source?

Smoke explosion

What is the most common method used in fire fighter operations?

Temperature reduction

Water is converted to steam at:

212?F (100?C)

What method of fire suppression is the simplest?

Fuel removal

What fire-suppression method does not work if fuel is self-oxidizing?

Oxygen exclusion

What suppression method uses extinguishing agents to stop flame production?

Chemical flame inhibition

What fire behavior can be the result of wind from outside the structure?

Unplanned ventilation