Reciting paragraph: In the simplest terms, fire might be defined as rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and flame (or heat and light). A student would normally have little trouble memorizing this and when asked the definition of fire he or she should be able to give a satisfactory answer; however, in reality, the student might still have little understanding of what fire really is as the definition includes the word oxidation, which might be foreign to him or her. Oxidation is a chemical process where an atom from one material combines with an atom of oxygen from another material to form a new product. An example of a product of oxidation is rust; however, in this process the oxidation takes place extremely slowly, whereas in fire the process is relatively rapid.