What makes balloon inflate

Details Activity Length 15 mins. Objectives Explain how air pressure works. Materials Per Demo or Class: 2 Plastic drink bottles 2 litres in size, clean and dry 2 balloons scissors, thumbtack, or nail for leader to make the hole Key Questions Why did one balloon inflate and the other not? Select two volunteers, preferably one small student and one big student.

Give the bigger student the bottle without a hole and give the smaller student the bottle with the hole. Give each volunteer a balloon to place inside the neck of the bottle, stretching the open end of the balloon over the mouth of the bottle to seal it.

On the count of three, challenge the volunteers to blow up their balloons! Thank the students and ask another pair of students to come up and repeat the demonstration use new balloons. Extensions Inflate the balloon in the bottle again and cover the nail hole with your finger.

Pour water into the balloon while keeping your finger over the hole. Go outside or hold the bottle over a sink before you remove your finger. Watch out for that stream of water gushing out of the bottle top! Related Resources Air In these activities students explore the impressive force of air and learn how air pressure affects their daily lives.

A base is a substance that tastes bitter, feels slippery, and turns red litmus paper blue. Does changing the amount of baking soda and vinegar change the size of the balloon when it inflates? What would happen if you used another acid like lemon juice instead of the vinegar? Would it react the same with the baking soda? Tip: I used Apple Cider Vinegar, but any kind of vinegar will work. Then insert another funnel into the mouth of the balloon. Tip: It is best to have two funnels, one for filling the bottle with vinegar and one for the balloon.

If you only have one funnel, it is important that you completely wash and dry the funnel after you add the vinegar and before you put it into the balloon.

Place two teaspoons of baking soda into the funnel so it falls into the balloon. Then remove the balloon from the funnel. Next, secure the the mouth of the balloon over the top of the bottle. While holding the bottle, lift the end of the balloon allowing the baking soda to drop into the bottle. Watch in amazement as the balloon magically inflates! Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Start Here Experiments About Contact. Other Ideas to Try Does changing the amount of baking soda and vinegar change the size of the balloon when it inflates? I hope you enjoyed the experiment. Here are some printable instructions:. Instructions Using a funnel, pour about a third of a cup of vinegar into the bottle. For example, the familiar ca-chunk that you feel driving on a bridge is actually the seams designed to allow the bridge to expand on hot days and shrink on cold days.

Try this experiment with your kids to catch this phenomenon in a bottle! And not a screen in sight. When you stretch the balloon over the opening of the bottle, all of the air is trapped inside. Putting the bottle in hot water causes the air molecules inside to heat up and begin taking up more space thermal expansion , causing air to enter the balloon and inflate it.

When you move the bottle into the cold water, the air molecules cool back down and take up less space thermal contraction. CuriOdyssey is a c 3 nonprofit, Tax ID Become a Member.