Oxygen is safe and non-flammable but does not support combustion.

Oxygen is safe and non-flammable but does not support combustion.

• A. combustion
• B. oxidation
• C. corrosion
• D. evaporation

Answer: (A)

Oxygen’s role in fire is that of an oxidizer: it doesn’t burn by itself, but it makes burning possible for other substances. The process you’re describing is the rapid chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidizer that releases heat and often light—that’s combustion. So the word that best names what’s happening in a fire is combustion. Oxidation is the broader chemical reaction with oxygen and can be slow (like rusting), corrosion is a specific slow oxidation of metals, and evaporation is simply a liquid turning into a gas—neither describes the burning process as directly as combustion.

Oxygen’s role in fire is that of an oxidizer: it doesn’t burn by itself, but it makes burning possible for other substances. The process you’re describing is the rapid chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidizer that releases heat and often light—that’s combustion. So the word that best names what’s happening in a fire is combustion. Oxidation is the broader chemical reaction with oxygen and can be slow (like rusting), corrosion is a specific slow oxidation of metals, and evaporation is simply a liquid turning into a gas—neither describes the burning process as directly as combustion.