Words that start with F

If you look closely at the ends of your fingers you will be able to see lots of small lines in your skin. Whenever you touch something, the oil on your skin means you leave a mark of these lines, called a fingerprint. Everyone has different fingerprints, and at a crime scene the police will be looking for fingerprints so they can try and find out who was there.

A Finn is someone from Finland. See also Finnish. Not to be confused with fin.

When something is burning, it is said to be on fire. Flames can be different colours depending on what is burning and how hot it is. Fire is very hot and bright, and people light fires in their houses to keep warm. When a fire is out of control it can be extremely dangerous, as the photo of a forest fire shows. When something burns it gives off gas and particles as smoke. It gives off heat because burning is an exothermic reaction, which means it creates heat as it happens. Some things like boiling water are the opposite, and need heat to happen.

Fire hydrants are seen by the roadside in many cities. They connect to the mains water of that city and allow firefighters to tap into large amounts of high pressure water to put out fires. In some cities the fire hydrants are under the ground, with a small lid that needs to be opened before they can be used.

A fireplace is somewhere, usually indoors, that is built to contain a fire for either cooking or heating. Fireplaces are generally made from brick, stone, rammed earth or any other material that will not burn.