Even if you don't touch a marshmallow to a campfire flame, holding a marshmallow near a flame causes it to toast and turn brown. why does this happen?

hot air in the atmosphere cooks the marshmallow.

heat radiates from the fire and cooks the marshmallow.

smoke and soot from the fire cause the marshmallow to brown.

dust blowing through the air causes the marshmallow to brown.

The correct answer is B. Heat radiates from the fire and cooks the marshmallow.

Explanation:

Fire occurs as one material such as wood burns or oxidates (atoms of the material change), and this releases heat, and light. In the case of the heat emitted by fire, this goes beyond the visible flames, considering due to the process of oxidation a lot of energy is produced as heat. Additionally, this heat is transferred to nearby objects.

Due to this, just by being near to fire you can feel the heat emitted even without having contact with flames. This implies, in the case of a marshmallow that toasts and turns brown if you hold it near to a flame, this occurs because the heat radiates from the fire due to oxidation or combustion and this cooks the marshmallow changing the way it looks and tastes.