re-weighing the sample. The amount of mass lost after the LOI treatment is equal to the mass of the component the researcher is trying to determine. The typical set of materials needed to use LOI include: a high precision mass balance, a drying oven, temperature controlled furnace, preheated crucibles and soil sample from the location of interest. There are many ways to properly utilize loss on ignition for scientific research. A soil sample left overnight in a drying oven at 100° Celsius would have its water content completely evaporated by morning. This could allow the researchers to determine the amount of water initially in the soil sample and its porosity by comparing the change in weight of the sample before and after the evaporation. This new weight of the sample is called the dry weight and its previous weight is called the wet weight. Steps A general procedure of how to perform a loss on ignition is as follows: Weigh the empty crucible that the sample is to be placed in and record its weight in a lab book. Place the sample in the empty crucible and weigh the crucible again with the sample in it. The new weight minus the empty crucible weight is the sample’s wet weight. Place the sample in the drying oven or blast furnace as required. Set the oven or furnace to the desired temperature. If the researcher wants to find the dry weight of the soil then the furnace would need to be 100° Celsius. Leave the sample in the furnace for the desired length of time. If the researcher wanted to know the sample's dry weight and is using a furnace set at 100° Celsius, then the researcher would usually leave the furnace on overnight. Open the oven but also back away from it at the same time since the hot air escaping from the furnace can burn bare skin. Allow the oven and sample to cool down before removing the sample from the oven. Weigh the crucible with the sample again. Subtract the empty crucible weight from this new weight and that is the sample's dry weight. Application Typically, this method is used to determine water content levels, carbon levels, amount of organic matter levels, amount of volatile compounds. LOI is also used in the cement industry which operates the furnace in the 950° Celsius range (e.g. cement kilns), combustion engineers also