This lesson was created by Brailio, a student in the UniTY Program at the Miami Museum of Science.


Concept

Did you know that "Air" has weight???

It does, and we can prove it!

 

 

Materials

 

 

Procedure

1. Blow up two balloons to about the same size. Tie the ends of the balloons. Tie a piece of string to the end of each of the balloons. Tie only one string to each balloon. [Please refer to Figure A. below]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure A.

 

 

 

2. Tie the other end of each of those strings to the ends of the meter stick. When you are finished, one balloon should hang from each end of the meter stick. [Pleaserrefer to Figure B. below]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure B.

  

 

 

3. Tie the third string around the middle of the meter stick extending it in the opposite direction (holding it up) from the hanging balloons. Tie the other end of the string to the middle of the bottom wire of the hanger. The meter stick should swing freely. [Please refer to Figure C. below]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure C.

  


4. Adjust the string until the meter stick balances. Another tight knot on the hanger might make this job a little easier. Tape the string to the meter stick and try to establish the most balanced position. Once you have balanced the meter stick, observe the balloons, their behavior, and their positions. [Please refer to Figure D. below]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure D.

  



5. Ask yourself, "What do you think will happen if you pop one of the balloons?" Have an ADULT prick one of the balloons with the pin and see what happens. [Please refer to Figure E. below]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure E.

  

 

 


Compare what you predicted, with what actually happened. What happened to the position of the meterstick? Why?

 

Here are some questions that you can ask you students about Air. Several answers are listed below. See if you can think of any we've missed!

 

1. What do you know about air?

We breathe air

Air is a gas

Air makes up the atmosphere

 

2. What are some things you have observed about air?

Air moves (wind)

Air can change temperature

Air can be smelled

Air can be seen (water vapor, smoke)

Your can feel air when it moves (wind)

You can see air move things (storms)

Moving air makes weather

Hot air rises (ex. as with hot air balloons)

 

3. How do living things use air?

To breathe (oxygen)

Plants use air to make food (CO2)

Birds use air to fly

Seeds are distributed by the wind

 

4. Is all air clean?

Some air is polluted

Sometimes we can see air pollution

Sometimes we can smell air pollution

 

5. What are the properties of air?

Air is transparent

Air has weight

Air takes up space

Air is a gas (it is not a liquid or a solid)

Air is made up of molecules and atoms

 

 

For more information on Air and its amazing properties, you can check out these links:

 

National Air and Space Museum Homepage

wysiwyg://www.nasm.si.edu/

 

NOVA Online

http://www.halcyon.com/sciclub/child.html

 

The Science Club

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/base/history.html

 

SMILE for science

http://www.iit.edu/~smile/bi9003.html

 

Flying Fun

http://worldflight.org/youcansoar/resources/fly.how.html

 

 

Special thanks to:

 

 

 &

 

 The Unisys Corporation
  

 The Miami Museum Of Science