air occupies space experiments

Air Experiments For Kids - A cool experiment that leaves paper dry even when submerged in water.

Air Experiments For Kids: Air Takes Up Space Experiment

Here’s another easy experiment to see how air takes up space. This is a quick and easy experiment that clearly shows kids that even though you don’t see air, it is around and it takes up space.

Tags : kitchen science , air, air pressure, molecules

a clear bowl full of water
kitchen towel or newspaper
food coloring
a spoon, stick, or chopsticks for stirring
you will also need 1 clear plastic cup and another plastic cup with holes in the bottom [the glasses should be a little bit higher than the rim of the bowl so that water doesn’t get in through the holes ]

Step By Step Instructions

First, fill the bowl with water.
Next, get the first plastic without the hole. Crumple some pieces of paper and put it snugly at the bottom of the cup.
Put the cup into the water upside down. Leave it in the bowl for 30 seconds or so. You will need to push it with your hand to keep it in place or else the cup will float back up.
After 30 seconds, slowly take the cup out of the water without tilting it.
Once fully out of the water, take the paper out. What’s happened to the paper? Is it dry or wet?
If you want to see exactly what’s happening to the water and the cup, you can choose to color the water as we have done in the video above.
Now let’s proceed to the next step. This time, we’re going to use the cup with a hole in the bottom.
Do exactly the same thing. Crumple some pieces of paper and push it tight at the bottom of the cup.
Next, submerge the cup upside down into the colored water. What’s happening now? You will see the paper slowly getting red and getting wet (kitchen paper works much better with this as you can actually see it change color plus it absorbs the water much quicker). What do you think is happening here?

Air Takes Up Space Experiment Explanation

It’s not often easy for kids to think of air as a thing; as matter. Yes, it’s around us but because we “often” don’t see it, it’s not easy to visualize it as matter.

Experiments like this help kids see that even though we can’t see the air around us, it is matter, and like all matter is made of molecules that occupy space. It’s also good for learning about nature and the world around u.s

Dry Paper in Water

So this was the first experiment. When you took the paper out, it was completely dry! You probably know the answer by now.

It’s because the air molecules that were already in the cup occupied that empty space [well, I guess we can say it isn’t really empty because there is air in it, right?]. There IS something inside it. You just don’t see it.

And so, when you submerged the cup upside down, there wasn’t any more space for the water to go inside the cup. That’s why the paper didn’t get wet at all.

Wet Paper In Water!

Now in the second experiment, you used the cup with holes in the bottom. And this time, when you submerged it in water, the paper got very wet!

So what happened there?

Well, since the cup has holes, the air could now easily escape out of the cup. So when you submerged it, all that air molecules went running out of the hole and the water was just much too happy to occupy the space that the air had escaped from.

And that’s how the paper got wet!

This experiment is really quite interesting for kids to see. No fancy learning toys are needed!

Video: Science Trick – Keep Paper Dry In Water

Here’s a video of the experiment.See how fun it is. If you’re the video type of person, why not subscribe to your Youtube channel for more science experiments for kids?

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Dunked napkin.

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Lesson Plans / Activities

Although air is present in the room with other matter, a visual aid is necessary for an observer to “see” that air occupies a portion of space. In this experiment, a plastic cup containing both air and a crumpled napkin is turned upside down and placed into a container of water. Air and water cannot occupy the same space at the same time; therefore, the napkin remains dry. Dunked Napkin [144KB PDF file] This activity is part of the Aeronautics Educator Guide .

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Science project, air is everywhere.

Grade Level: 3rd - 5th; Type: Physical Science

Objective:

To provide evidence that air is everywhere and takes up space.

Research Questions:

What properties does air have?
How can you prove that air takes up space?
How can you prove that air has mass?

Air is everywhere! You might not be able to touch it or see it but it is all around us. Though invisible, you can easily see that air takes up space when you blow up a balloon. You can see the movement that it creates when a breeze blows through the leaves on a tree.

Straight pin
Balloons (at least 2)
Piece of cardboard
Short, wide-mouth jar

Experimental Procedure:

(Two-part experiment)

Inflate two balloons and tie them. Use string to tie a balloon on each end of the ruler. Tie a short string to the middle of the ruler so that you can hold the string to where the ruler is suspended.
Move the balloons until the ruler is balanced.
Make a prediction of what will happen if one balloon is popped. Record your prediction.
Pop one of the balloons using a straight pin. What happened to the ruler? Record your observation.
Trace the mouth of the jar onto the cardboard. Cut the cardboard larger than the diameter of the jar.
Fill the jar half full with water. Place the piece of cardboard over the top of the jar.
Make a prediction about what will happen when you turn the jar upside down. Record your prediction.
Turn the jar upside down while you hold the cardboard tightly in place. Take your hand off the cardboard. What happened to the water? Record your observation.

Terms/Concepts: Air; Matter; Mass; Properties of matter

References:

Science Turns Minds On . (1995) New York: McGraw-Hill

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Air takes up space

Follow FizzicsEd 150 Science Experiments:

You will need:

One clear container filled with water
Clear drinking glass
Tissue paper
Ping pong ball

Air takes up space science experiment - materials needed

Instruction
Video Instruction

Air takes up space science experiment - floating ping pong ball in water

Place the ping pong ball into the clear container filled with water.

Air takes up space science experiment - covering the floating ping pong ball with a glass

Put the glass over the ping pong ball so that the ball sits inside the glass.

Air takes up space science experiment - ping pong ball at the bottom of the water container

Push the glass down into the water, while it is still over the ball. The water level should rise around the glass and the ball should remain dry.

Remove the glass from the water.

Air takes up space science experiment - adding tissue paper to an empty glass

Scrunch some paper into a ballput it into the glass.

Air takes up space science experiment - beginning to push the glass over the floating ping pong ball

Again place the glass, upside-down into the water and push down. The tissue paper should not get wet. Why?

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Why Does This Happen?

Air takes up space. It cannot get easier than this!

The pressure exerted by the air inside the glasses allows the air to exclude the water and the ping pong ball. Using the tissue just helps to show that air, not water, is trapped inside the glass.

You would have noticed the water level rise within the container as you pushed the glass down. This is due to displacement, whereby the water is pushed out of the way by the air inside the glass.

The same idea is applied when it comes to air locks in deep-sea diving bells. As long the air pressure is greater than the water pressure, the water will not enter the diving bell.

Variables to test

More about variables here

Does this work with all liquids?
What happens if you change the shape or size of the glass?

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10 thoughts on “ Air takes up space ”

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FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

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Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

TeachEngineering
Air - Is It Really There?

Hands-on Activity Air - Is It Really There?

Grade Level: 6 (4-6)

Time Required: 1 hour

Expendable Cost/Group: US $5.00

Group Size: 1

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Chemistry

NGSS Performance Expectations:

Curriculum in this Unit Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Nested under units are lessons (in purple) and hands-on activities (in blue). Note that not all lessons and activities will exist under a unit, and instead may exist as "standalone" curriculum.

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Unit

Lesson

Activity

TE Newsletter

Engineering connection, learning objectives, materials list, worksheets and attachments, more curriculum like this, introduction/motivation, troubleshooting tips, activity scaling, user comments & tips.

Engineers help design and create healthier tomorrows

Engineers must understand the physical properties of air so they can determine the best way to remove pollutants from contaminated air. They study how quickly air moves and how much pressure it exerts. This knowledge helps them design filtration systems that efficiently move air through a system, while at the same time ensuring that pollutants are removed before the air is released into the atmosphere.

After this activity, students should be able to:

Understand and explain that air takes up space has mass, can move, exerts pressure, and can do work.
Give examples that demonstrate an understanding of the properties of air.
Explain why it is important for engineers to understand the properties of air.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science.

NGSS Performance Expectation
5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen. (Grade 5) Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!


This activity focuses on the following aspects of NGSS:
Science & Engineering Practices	Disciplinary Core Ideas	Crosscutting Concepts
Develop a model to describe phenomena. Alignment agreement: Thanks for your feedback!	Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gases are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon and the effects of air on larger particles or objects. Alignment agreement: Thanks for your feedback!	Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large. Alignment agreement: Thanks for your feedback!

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

View aligned curriculum

Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!

State Standards

Colorado - science.

Each student needs a copy of the Air - Is It Really There? Worksheet

Demo 1 – Air Takes Up Space

Part A: 1 paper lunch bag
Part B: 1 balloon, and 1 empty one-liter plastic pop or juice bottle (it must have a narrow neck; remove the label)

Demo 2 – Air Has Mass

2 identical balloons
1 meter stick
1 straight pin

Demo 3 – Air Can Move (We Can Feel It)

1 electric fan (table or floor size)

Demo 4 – Air Exerts Pressure (It Pushes on Things)

Part A - Student Activity: 1 sheet of 8.5" x 11" paper per student
Part B - Student Activity: Each student needs 1 straw and 1 small cup containing water
Part C: 1 medium sized jar with an opening smaller than an index card, 1 index card or piece of light-weight cardboard, 1 large bowl/dish in case of spills, paper towels or rags in case of spills
Part D: 1 small juice glass, 1 tissue and 1 medium bowl filled with water

Demo 5 – Air Does Work

1 medium-sized plastic bag
A stack of textbooks

Most of the time, we hardly notice the air around us. We cannot usually see it or taste it. Air does not usually smell (but it does carry substances that we do smell). However, you can feel air when it moves and you can see the effects of air on your surroundings. When air moves, it has great power (to push sailboats, drive windmills and move clouds), and when it is compressed (squashed into a small space), it has great strength (air in a tire supports a vehicle and helps a helicopter to rise into the air).

We must have air to survive. Because of this, engineers work to solve our air pollution problems. There are many things that complicate these solutions, so engineers who work on air pollution problems must have a firm understanding of the composition, properties and behavior of air.

This activity focuses on the physical properties of air: Air takes up space, has mass, can move, exerts pressure and can do work. Engineers need to know the physical properties of air so they can determine the best way to remove pollutants from it. These properties are important to consider when designing a system or process to remove pollutants from the air. Many car exhaust systems, power plant emissions stacks and building systems utilize high-tech filter devices designed to remove pollutants from the air. Some systems that require air to move through pipes can treat only limited volumes of air at a time. Engineers study how quickly air moves and how much pressure it exerts so they can design filtration systems that are strong enough to efficiently move air through the system while still ensuring pollutants are removed before the air is released into the atmosphere.

Before the Activity

The demonstrations go more smoothly if you practice them in advance.

If you have all the supplies organized and ready, it is possible to do all of these demos in one class period.
Hand out the Air - Is It Really There? Worksheet for students to use to record their observations along with the demos.

With the Students

Part A — Hold up a paper bag and ask the students if there is anything in it. Have the students open the lunch bag and look inside.

Next, blow into the bag and hold the top tight with your hand (see Figure 1).

Photograph of a hand holding the neck of a closed a paper bag, plump with air.

Question: Ask the students, What is in the bag now? (Answer: Air)

Part B — Push a deflated balloon into a bottle and stretch the open end of the balloon back over the bottle's mouth (see Figure 2).

Question: Have the students guess what will happen to the balloon if you were to try to inflate it inside the bottle. Will the balloon break the bottle, pop or do nothing?

Photograph of an un-stretched balloon inside a two-liter bottle with the open end of the balloon stretched over the bottle lip

Try to blow up the balloon!

After the experiment, discuss why the balloon did nothing. (Answer: Because air takes up space, the bottle was full of air. When you try to blow up the balloon, the air trapped inside the bottle prevents the balloon from inflating.)

Make the point that even though air is invisible, it still takes up space . Also, discus how engineers need to know how much space air takes up so they can design filtration systems that are large enough to treat the polluted air created by cars, power plants and factories.

Hold up two inflated balloons of the same size attached to opposite ends of a meter stick. Ask the students if there is anything in them. (Answer: Air)

Balance the meter stick such that it is perfectly horizontal, showing that both sides have equal mass (see Figure 3). This may not be perfectly accurate, but it is close enough for the demonstration. Ask students to describe why it balances like this.

Photograph of a woman holding a meter stick, with inflated balloons attached on each end, perfectly balanced on one finger.

Question: Ask students what will happen if you pop one of the balloons. (Answer: They should predict that the end with the inflated balloon still attached will "go down" and the end with the deflated balloon will rise. They can usually relate this to the action of a playground see-saw.)

Pop one of the balloons with the pin.

Question: Ask students to describe what happened and why. (Answer: The side of the stick with the popped balloon rises, because the mass of air in that balloon was released, making that side of the stick lighter.)

Make the point that that even though air is invisible, it still has mass . Why is this important for engineers to study? (Answer: Engineers need to make sure the filtration systems they design are made from materials strong enough to hold the air that is being treated and not break under the weight of the polluted air.)

Alternatively, use a triple-beam or electronic balance, to measure the mass of the balloon before and after it is inflated. What is the mass of the air inside?

Talk about air. Can the students see air? How do they know it is there? (Answer: We can feel it moving, for example, the wind.)

Direct an electric fan towards the students and turn it on (see Figure 4).

Photograph of a person's hand feeling the moving air in front of a running electric table fan.

Ask the students what they felt when they were in front of the fan.

After their responses, explain that what they were feeling was air moving very fast. Explain how the fan makes air move very fast.

Make the point that even though air is invisible, it still can move.

Question: Ask the students to give other examples of when air is moving very fast. Why is it important for engineers to study moving air? (Answer: Engineers need to know how to move air through the filtration systems. A very good filtration system is useless if you cannot get the polluted air to go through it.)

Part A — Take the students to a place where there is plenty of room to run. If it is a nice day, the activity can be done outside on a playground or in a field. If not, use a gymnasium. At the activity area, pick a few volunteer students. Hand each a piece of 8.5" x 11" paper.

Ask the rest of the class what they think will happen to a piece of paper if the volunteer puts it against their stomach while walking forward without holding the paper in place.

Instruct one of the volunteer students to hold a piece of paper against their stomach. Have the student let go of the paper when they begin to walk forward (see Figure 5). (The paper should fall to the ground.)

Photographs of a person walking with the paper falling off of her body and a person running with the paper staying pressed against her body.

Question: Ask the class if they have any ideas why the paper did not stay against the student's body.

Question: Ask the students what they think will happen to the piece of paper if they put it against their stomach and run in a straight line without holding the paper in place.

Select a second volunteer. Have the student place the paper against their stomach and hold it with their hand.

Tell the student to begin running in a straight line and let go of the paper when they begin running (see Figure 5). (The paper should stay in place.)

Question: Ask the class if they know why the paper stayed in place when the student ran. What caused the paper to stay in place?

Have the rest of the students who want to try it, do so.

Afterwards, explain that the force holding the paper in place when the student ran was air. Make the point that even though air is invisible, it exerts pressure . When you run, the air pushes against you, working to hold the piece of paper against your body. While walking, the paper did not stay in place because the air was not pushing very hard against your body.

Part B — Pass out straws to the students, along with small cups of water.

Allow the students to experiment with the straws by covering the tops with their fingers while withdrawing them from the water. They should note that the water does not fall out of the straws unless they remove their fingers.

Explain to the students that the water does not fall out when the top of the straw is sealed because the pressure of the air outside the straw pushes against the water through the open end of the straw. (If the water were to fall out of a covered straw, a vacuum would be created in the region vacated by the water. Since the vacuum has no pressure while the atmosphere does, the pressure differential keeps the water in the straw against the force of gravity.)

Part C — Question: Ask the students if they think the same result (as Demo 4B) would occur if instead of a straw, they used a container with a larger diameter.

Fill a jar completely with water. Cover the mouth of the jar with an index card. Be sure to get the rim of the jar slightly wet. The best way to do this is to have a slight excess of water on top before you put the card on.

Keeping one finger on the cover, invert the container. Carefully remove your finger. Slowly rotate the jar through a complete circle so the mouth faces up and then down again (see Figure 6). The card should stay on the jar regardless of orientation, showing that air pressure is exerted on the card from the top, bottom and sides.

Photographs showing an index card securely fastened on the top of an upside down and horizontal jar filled with water.

Part D — Crumple a tissue and push it down into the bottom of a glass so that it does not fall out when you invert the glass.

Turn the glass upside down and place it under the water in a bowl (see Figure 7). Do not tilt the glass. You should find that the water does not enter the glass and that the tissue stays dry.

Photographs showing a dry tissue inside an inverted glass that was once submersed upside down in a bowl of water.

Question: Ask students to suggest ideas for why the tissue does not get wet. (Answer: Water cannot get into the glass [provided you do not tip it] because the glass is full of air.)

Question: Why is this important to engineers? (Answer: Engineers need to determine how much pressure air exerts so they can design filtration systems that are large enough for all the air to flow through without exerting so much pressure that it breaks the system. Just like when you were running, the air pushed a piece of paper up against you. This same type of pressure is felt by all of the parts of the filtration system as the air moves quickly by. Therefore all of the pieces of the system must be strong enough to not break under this pressure.)

Question: Ask students if they can suggest a way to lift a pile of books using only their breath.

Question: If the air is strong enough to push a piece of paper and hold water in a straw or jar, is it strong enough to move and hold books?

Place a plastic bag under the textbooks such that the open end is sticking out slightly. Carefully blow air into the bag, being sure to close the end each time you put in a new breath. The air in the bag should lift the books (see Figure 8).

Photograph of a pile of books supported by a plastic bag full of air.

Question: Ask the students to describe is happening. (Answer: The air in the bag lifts the books.)

Make the point that even though air is invisible, it still can do work.

Question: Ask the students to brainstorm other examples of when air does work. (for example, supporting airplanes, floating hot air balloons, moving windmills, inflating tires that support cars and bicycles, etc.).

At the end, instruct the students to complete the Air – Is It Really There? Worksheet.

Pre-Activity Assessment

Discussion Question : Ask a discussion question to get students to think about the upcoming activity concepts. Record their answers on the board.

What are the properties of air? How would you describe air? (Tell them that they will learn more about the properties of air in this activity.)

Activity Embedded Assessment

Question/Answer : During the course of the activity demos, have students answer a series of questions. These are labeled "Question:" throughout the Procedure section.

Worksheet : During the course of the activity demos, have the students record their observations of the demos on their copy of the Air - Is It Really There? Worksheet .

Post-Activity Assessment

Writing : Have the students write a summary about the properties of air demonstrated in this activity. They should include at least one example (either from the activity or discussion) of each of the properties discussed (air takes up space, has mass, moves, exerts pressure, does work). They should also explain why it is important for engineers to study the physical properties of air.

Safety Issues

Make sure students remain seated during all demonstrations. Many of the demos use glass so extra care is required to ensure it does not accidentally get broken by wandering hands.

Be prepared with paper towels or rags for clean up.

Younger students enjoy these demonstrations. Ask them to draw pictures to show each of the properties of air (air takes up space, has mass, moves, exerts pressure, does work).

Students are introduced to the concepts of air pollution, air quality, and climate change. The three lesson parts (including the associated activities) focus on the prerequisites for understanding air pollution. First, students use M&M® candies to create pie graphs that express their understanding o...

preview of 'What's Air Got to Do with It? Properties & Quality' Lesson

Students are introduced to the concepts of air pollution and technologies that engineers have developed to reduce air pollution. They develop an understanding of visible air pollutants with an incomplete combustion demonstration, a "smog in a jar" demonstration, construction of simple particulate ma...

Cunningham, J. and N. Herr. Hands-on Physics Activities with Real-Life Applications . West Nyack, NY: The Center for Applied Research in Education, pp. 188-210. 1994.

Environmental Science Lesson Plans. Last updated May 15, 2006. Lesson Plans for Teachers, TCEQ, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Accessed September 18, 2006. Formerly available from http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assistance/education/k-12education/lessonplans.html

EPA NE: Indoor Air Quality – Tools for Schools. April 16, 2004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed October 13, 2004. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/states/nebraska.html

Walpole, Brenda. 175 Science Experiments to Amuse and Amaze Your Friends . Random House, 1988.

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation GK-12 grant no. 0338326. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education or National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: November 12, 2020

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Investigating the atmosphere – air takes up space

In this activity, students investigate different scenarios, which show that a gas occupies space and learn about what happens when objects hit the atmosphere. The activity can be followed by lessons about the atmosphere and its different layers or activities about greenhouse gases.

Plastic syringes (no needles): two different sizes (per group)
Narrow straws, plastic pipettes, Blu tack, water
Bowl of water, plastic or glass cup, tissues

Follow-up activity: glass bottle, funnel, tape (or rubber O-ring available in DIY stores), water

The goal is to understand that gas occupies space and relate it to real situations that prove it.

Students experiment with syringes, balloons and water to become aware of and explore the concept of air.
Students will be able to recognise that a gas, such as air, occupies space.

Air takes up space.

A layer of air, called the atmosphere, surrounds the Earth like a thick blanket. Plants and animals use the air in the atmosphere to survive.

Although the atmosphere extends far above the Earth’s surface, most of the air is concentrated in the lowest 5 kilometres (3 miles). This is because gravity acts on the air, pulling it towards the Earth’s surface.

The higher you go in the atmosphere, the thinner the air gets. This means that each breath contains less air (and therefore less oxygen), so mountain-climbers climbing a very high mountain find it harder to breathe the higher they go.

Air is made up of a variety of gases (mainly nitrogen and oxygen) and other particles.

Meteorites or spacecraft approaching the Earth at a high speed can explode when they reach the atmosphere. The force of the meteorites or spacecraft crashing into the blanket of air we call the atmosphere can release lots of heat.

Meteorites usually disintegrate and burn up when they crash into Earth’s atmosphere (but some survive and made big dents on the Earth called craters). Obviously it would not be good for spacecraft (which can be travelling extremely fast, e.g. 28000 km/hour) to burn up when they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, so various methods are used to prevent this, e.g. reducing their speed and using insulating materials.

Preparation

Accessing a video of a meteor exploding as it enters the atmosphere would be helpful, e.g. the Chelyabinsk Meteor which exploded over the Urals in Russia in February 2013. Download here or watch online at: https://goo.gl/xbFisl

Engaging/Trigger Questions:

Show the video of a meteorite exploding far up in the sky. Discuss why the meteorite travelled a long distance through outer space (a vacuum) without exploding, and why it did not wait to explode until it hit the Earth’s surface (it hit the atmosphere). Ask the students to offer some possible explanations.

Other discussions could be based around air being necessary for us to breathe and stay alive; astronauts carrying oxygen with them into space. Can they think of other objects in which air is stored? (tyres of bikes and cars, bubbles, footballs).

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Activity 1: Fill a Balloon with Air

Take a balloon and blow it up (i.e. fill it with air but do not let it explode).

Can you describe what is happening? (As the air enters the balloon from your lungs, it takes up space in the balloon. The balloon expands because the air inside needs more space).

Activity 2: Fill a Syringe with Air and Feel the Air Pushing

Pull the plunger of the syringe out towards you, then push it in again. Was this easy? What was happening inside the syringe? (The syringe was filled with air, which was pushed out again).

Pull the plunger again, and this time cover the other end of the syringe with your finger. Press down on the plunger. Was this easy? What did you feel? Can you explain what was happening inside the syringe? Was there any difference this time, and if so why? (It is easy to push the plunger a little, but gets difficult because the air trapped inside the syringe resists the plunger. The more compressed the air becomes, the harder it is to push the plunger).

Let the plunger go. What happens? (The plunger pops back and then stops). Why do you think this happens? (The air which was compressed in the syringe expands to its original state and pushes the plunger back out).

Activity 3: Controlling Movement with a Syringe Attached to Each End of Plastic Tubing.

For the following, use 2 syringes of the same size.

Push the end of one syringe fully in, and attach the tubing to it.

Push the end of the other syringe only partially, and attach the tubing to it. (This is to make sure that the syringes are not pushed out of the tubing).

Predict what will happen to the other syringe when you push one syringe in and out? Now try and see! (The other syringe moves out).

Why does this happen? (The trapped air has the power to move things).

Can you compare how much both the syringes moved? (Approximately the same).

Repeat the above activity using two different sized syringes.

Do you think the syringes will move the same distance this time? Try and see! What do you notice? Is there any connection between the size of the syringes and the distances they move? (A small syringe pushes a bigger syringe by a small distance. A large syringe can push a small syringe by a much greater distance).

Activity 4: Fill a Straw with Water from the Top

Block up the bottom of a narrow straw with a piece of Blu tack. Then fill the straw with water from the top, using a pipette. Was this difficult? If so, why do you think it was not easy? (Air got in the way). Slowly release the Blu tack. What happens and why? (The water moves down, because the air escapes).

Activity 5: Dry Tissue under Water

Crumple up some tissues into a ball and push them tightly into the bottom of a cup, so that they do not fall out when the cup is turned upside down. (A few tissues tightly packed are less likely to fall out than one tissue). Predict what will happen to the water and tissue when you turn the cup upside down in the water.

Now turn the cup upside down and place it in water contained in a bowl. Take it out and feel the tissue. What do you notice? Why do you think the tissue did not get wet? (Air prevented the water from going up into the cup).

Discuss where air pockets can occur: in water pipes, capsized canoes, central heating radiators, etc.

Discuss what a vacuum is. What do you call the layer of air surrounding the Earth? (The atmosphere). What happens when things crash into the atmosphere? (Discussion could include the heat caused by friction. Students can rub or clap their hands – what do they feel? Planes catch fire when they crash because of the intense heat). Think of spacecraft returning to the Earth at a high speed after a mission in Space, what do they encounter first? (Air, i.e. the atmosphere). What you think it has to do? (Slow down). Otherwise what would happen? (It would break and burn up). How do you think a spacecraft can be prevented from burning up? (It is covered in insulating materials, and also it slows down).

Safety: In Activity 3, always use sterile syringes that have not been used for medical purposes. Be careful with the sizes of syringes – a big syringe could push out a small syringe with great force.

Maths: Display these questions for the students to answer.

1) Air is a mixture of gases that consists of carbon dioxide, argon and very small amounts of other gases.

Approximately what percentage of the air consists of (i) nitrogen and (ii) oxygen?
What is the approximate ratio of nitrogen to oxygen in the air?
Can you convert the three percentages above to decimals?

2) In Activity 3, use two different-sized syringes connected by tubing, calculate the ratio of the sizes of syringes. Then measure the distances that the two syringes moved.

Is there any connection between these two ratios?
Investigate which combination of syringes gives the greatest movement.

Analysis/Conclusion: Air takes up space (even though you cannot see it).

Follow-up activity: Filling a Bottle Using a Funnel

Put the funnel into the mouth of the bottle and ask the students to predict what will happen when they pour water into the funnel.

Ask them to pour water into the funnel and observe what happens (The water fills the bottle).

Now, secure the funnel to the bottle such that there is no space between the two. THIS SPACE MUST BE TOTALLY AIRTIGHT. The students again predict what will happen when they pour water into the funnel. They then pour water into the funnel.

Note: It can be difficult to get an airtight seal. A rubber O-ring, available in DIY stores, placed around the neck of the funnel and then pressing down on the funnel by hand can produce a good seal. Tape, well-sealed, may work also).

Observe what happens. What do you see? What do you hear? Why was it hard for the water to enter? (Air inside the bottle got in the way). What else do you notice? (In case of a fully airtight seal, no water will enter the bottle because the air gets in the way and cannot escape. If there is a slight air leak, there is a glug- glug sound of some water getting in while bubbles of air escape).

Students Can:

Find out more about central heating radiators not giving out much heat because of air getting trapped in them – ‘air locks’, and how this air is released.
Explore the five different layers which make up the atmosphere – find out their names, and at what approximate level you will find clouds, aeroplanes, the ozone layer, satellites, the International Space Station, etc. See the additional information section for links.

Did You Know?

In October 2014 Space X Dragon Spacecraft, returning to the Earth carrying a cargo of biological samples (including plants grown in space) from the International Space Station, produced intense heat as it entered the atmosphere. The temperature was nearly 3000º Fahrenheit (1649ºCelsius). It was protected from burning by a very strong heat shield.

Image credit: NASA/SpaceX

/activities/attach/5d6b3abf-8a0a-4e38-aaf5-a4d16c5836d8/astroedu1603-space-station.jpg

On Monday, 19 January 2015 an amateur photographer captured a fireball over Dalkey Island, south Co. Dublin. (Photo in Irish Examiner on Tues 20 January 2015).

/activities/attach/5d6b3abf-8a0a-4e38-aaf5-a4d16c5836d8/astroedu1603-meteor.jpg

“It is definitely a fireball or bright meteor,” confirmed David Moore the editor of the Astronomy Ireland magazine. “These objects come through the atmosphere at 70,000mph, burning up as they enter and are extremely rare to photograph.”

A fisherman survived 60 hours in an air pocket under an upturned boat which capsized off the coast of Nigeria in May 2013.

At each step of the activity, students are encouraged to answer questions and discuss their hypothesis with the teacher. Afterwards, discuss with the class what happened in each activity. What explanations do the students offer? Do they discuss the movement and pushing of air appropriately? Conclude that air takes up space, even though we cannot see it.

UK KS2: Year 5 Science - Forces: Identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction that act between moving surfaces. Explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object. UK KS2: Year 4 Science - States of matter: compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases. UK KS1 Science - Working scientifically: performing simple tests, using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.

An activity to discover the different layers of the Earth's atmosphere: How high is the sky? http://astroedu.iau.org/activities/how-high-is-the-sky/
Air and Water power http://www.primaryscience.ie/media/pdfs/col/dpsm_class_activity_air_water.pdf
For a meteor entering the Earth’s atmosphere above the UK www.esero.org.uk/news/meteor-fireball-seen-across-the-uk
For more about the layers which make up the atmosphere www.ducksters.com/science/atmosphere.php
For a more detailed investigation on the ‘ Dry Tissue Under Water’ activity see the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the USA) ‘Aeronautics Educator’s Guide’ http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/205704main_Dunked_Napkin.pdf

Fun Science Projects & Experiments - Air takes up Space

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Balloon Balance Experiment (Air has Weight)

May 31, 2021
7-9 Year Olds , Physics

Have you ever think of the weight of air around us?

Generally, we feel air doesn’t have any weight since it is not visible and just felt.

Are you wondering about, ‘Does air has mass?’!!

If you are interested, we can clear your curiosity about ‘air weight’ through this scientific experiment, i.e., ‘Balloon Balance Experiment.’ Here we go!

Balloon Balance Experiment

Hypothesis: We will prove that air has weight / mass by building a balance scale and performing an air weight experiment.

Balloon Balance Air Weight Science Experiment

Materials Required

Check out the concise list of supplies…

Two Balloons
A piece of string
Ruler / long stick (Wooden or steel)
Any sharp object like needle or pin
Scotch Tape

Building a Balloon Balance

Step-1: Build a balance using a ruler and strings! Take a ruler of your chosen material and give it a knot using a piece of string but precisely in the center. Make sure the string is strong enough to hold and balance the ruler scale in place.

Step-2: Now, bring the balance over your work table and attach the other free end of the string to support on the top. If you have a readymade balance available readily at home, then you can also use it.

Step-3: Then, pick the two balloons and blow them up. But you need to blow the two balloons in equal size.

Tie Thread In The Middle Part Of PVC Pipe

S tep-4: After checking, give the balloons a knot at the mouth of them using an equal length piece of string.

Step-5: It is time to fix the balloons on either side ends of the ruler, leaving 3-4 inches of space from the end of the scale. Fix the balloons to the ruler using the other free end of the string attached to the balloon.

As we are taking equal length strings to both the balloons to secure them, we must mostly observe the balloons at the same height even after tying them to the ruler. Finally, you need to check whether the balloons are at equal height from the ruler.

Step-6: At this stage, leave the balance attached with equal-sized and inflated balloons freely. That means let the balance adjust itself, and then you check, both the balloons remain at the same height as the ruler.

It shows that air inside both the balloons has equal mass and remains at the same height when left on balance freely.

Step-7: In step-7, we are going to prove that air has mass! To prove this, pick any sharp object and poke any of the two balloons.

Immediately, you can observe the balance goes down on the side where there is an inflated balloon and the side consisting of deflated balloon goes up.

Just like a see-saw, you can observe the actions of balance when you deflate one of the balloons using a sharp object.

Balloon Balance Air Weight Science Project

You can alter the experiment with varying mass of balloons to check the results.

Balloon Balance Experiment – Scientific Explanation

According to scientists, air is a type of matter that has mass and occupies space.

Does Air Have Weight?

Let us prove with our experiment that air has mass and takes up space. In the balloon balance experiment, we are blowing up balloons. When blow-up balloons, the air is entering inside them and making the balloons expand. So, this shows that the air occupies space which eventually proves that it has weight.

And when we tie the balloons to the scale with measurements and deflate one of them, the balance tilts i.e., the side attached to the inflated balloon will be on the lower side, and the side with deflated one goes upwards.

The deflated balloon loses its weight. And because of weight, the inflated balloon goes down, and the deflated one goes up on the scale. Using this, we can prove that air takes up space and has mass.

Air weights due to what?

When we blow up the balloon, the air inside the balloon is under high pressure. Because the amount of air inside the balloon is compressed within a certain amount of space available inside the balloon.

So when we blast it using a sharp object, the balloon’s skin moves away from the blast’s point, allowing the air to come outside. The compressed air comes out of the balloon when it blasts because it weighs more than the surrounding air weight. This shows that air has weight.

How much does a deflated balloon weigh?

A deflated balloon exhibits the weight of the (deflated) balloon and not the air.

Air has no weight when it is free to move from one place to another, but it contains weight when it is filled inside any container because the air inside a container compresses by the walls of balloons, which gives weight to the air inside the balloon.

Extension Ideas to the Balloon Balance Experiment

1) Try out many inflated balloons tied to the ruler scale on either side and perform the same experiment. Check whether there are the same final results or not!

2) Replace the deflated balloon with another inflated balloon and check what exactly happens.

3) Take many inflated balloons and tie them to the string side by side on either side of the scale. And check the results by blasting the balloons on one side at a time and one by one.

4) Try different-sized balloons and check what happens after the experiment.

Who discovered air has weight?

Galileo , a great scientist who discovered that ‘Air has Mass,’ but he could not prove his statements through scientific reasons adequately. And hence his remarkable discovery on-air weight became colder surrounding with a lot of controversies.

Later, Torricelli put his efforts on the same concept and surmised that air is less dense and exhibits less pressure on the hilly areas. But he just only explained the theory instead of proving it scientifically.

And finally, the scientist Blaise Pascal proved that air weights with proper explanations.

Does compressed air weigh anything?

As we already learned that compressed air exhibits weight more than the surrounding air moving freely outside through Balloon Balance Air has Weight Experiment. Let us see how much weight it reveals.

Compressed air weighs more than atmospheric air, and hence a certain amount of compressed air weighs more than the same amount of regular air. I.e., The weight of one cubic foot of air is 0.0807 pounds at 14.7 psi. If we compress the compressed air to 1000 psi, then the air weight per cubic foot is beyond 5 pounds. In this way, compressed air weight is calculated based on the pressure it is experiencing.

Check out other air pressure experiments:

Egg in a Bottle Experiment

Drip Drop Water Bottle

Crushing Can Experiment

FAQ’S

A: We can prove that air has mass by performing a simple science experiment, i.e., the ‘Balloon Balance Science Experiment’. Take a simple balance machine and tie equal-sized inflate balloons on either side of its lever. You will observe both the balloons hang at the same height from the ground. Now, blast any one of the inflated balloons and observe that the lever on the deflated balloon side tilts and moves upwards. While the inflated balloon still goes down because it has air which reveals mass. In this way, we can prove that air has weight.

A: When a balloon is filled with air, it expands because air has mass and occupies space. But a deflated balloon displaces its air into the surrounding air because it is compressed air with more weight than the regular air outside. So, it immediately displaces air outside when blasted and occupies no space. A deflated balloon doesn’t even hold any weight as there is no mass inside it.

A: One can find a balloon’s mass in two ways: One is an empty balloon weight without air, and the other is balloon mass with air. You need to pick a balloon for the first category and place it on the simple balance. You will see some reading changes on the lever. According to the readings, you can decide on an empty balloon’s weight that does not have air in it. And for the second category, you need to use ideal gas laws to find out the balloon’s mass that has air in it. I.e. PV= nRT

A: Yes, all types of gases consist of a certain amount of mass depending upon its amount present in a particular substance or container. Gases are invisible to the human eye, but we feel them through our skin because of the pressure they exhibit. But the gas particles stay intact by having large space in between them, unlike solids and liquids.

A: Matter is anything that takes up space and has weight. We can prove air is a matter using a balloon. So, pick a balloon and note down its weight using a simple balance before we fill in air into it. Now, blow the balloon using your mouth or a blower machine. Now the empty balloon expands and becomes large with a certain shape. It shows that it has air inside, occupying space, and expands the balloon to a certain size. Then, weigh the inflated balloon. You will see the inflated balloon weighs more than the empty one. From these two observations, we get to know that air takes up space and has weight. So, anything which has weight and occupies space is a matter, and hence the air is a matter.

A: Yes! Air takes up space because it is made of loosely packed air particles that have volume as well. Since it is a matter, it occupies space in the atmosphere. That is the reason living things can breathe in and out.

A: Sunlight is a combination of various rays, i.e., ultraviolet rays, visible rays, and infrared rays. And these rays emit radiation encompassed photon particles, which are tiny in size and move in space with high speed. As these particles do not have any weight or mass, they are not able to occupy space. When there is no scope for mass and taking up space by any object, then the object is not a matter. Since the sunlight is not made of matter, it does not fall under any state of matter.

A: Yes, water vapor occupies space during the process of turning the liquids into vapors. When liquids turn into vapor, there happens the expansion of liquid substance. It is due to the breakage of bonds that keep water molecules intact and results in steam formation. Such steam vapors act as gases and occupy more space than regular ones.

A: Light is nothing but an electromagnetic ray with a certain wavelength. It does take up space like protons and electrons.

A: Basically, the matter is of three different states, i.e., solid-state, liquid state, and gaseous state. All these three types of matter are different in their characteristic properties. And the particles that make these three matters are different and arrange themselves differently. If something refers to a matter, then it must exist in either of these three states. In our everyday life, the state of matter plays a significant role and has a very distinct form.

One comment

Great explanation! Even better than the 3rd grade science teacher.

BioEd Online

Science teacher resources from baylor college of medicine.

Air Occupies Space

Available Video Sources:

What is air? Can we see it? Dr. Greg Vogt uses simple objects to demonstrate that air occupies the space around us.

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Science: Simple Experiment – Air Takes Up Space

Science is not just a body of knowledge. Science is also a process of investigation. It is concerned with finding out about the world in a systematic way. An important part of science education provides students with the processes and skills required to investigate and acquire knowledge about themselves and their environment. The investigation process includes:

Proposing explanations
Predicting outcomes
Testing predictions
Modifying understandings
Making predictions supported by testing
Explaining and applying understandings

Simple Experiment: Air Taking Up Space

What is air? What are its’ characteristics? Using this simple experiment, we investigated an interesting characteristic of air. You will need a funnel; empty bottle; balloon, masking tape, rubber band, water.

{Observe, Predict Outcomes, Test Predictions} Put the funnel into the mouth of the bottle and before pouring water into the funnel, let children predict what will happen when they pour water into the funnel. (N & M predicted that the water will flow into the bottle). Pour the water into the funnel and observe, the water flows into the bottle. {Observe, Predict Outcome, Test Predictions} Now, secure the funnel onto the bottle so there is no space between the two. I found it very difficult to seal up the bottle. I tried using some clay at first, but that failed miserably. In the end I had to stretch a balloon over the top of the bottle; cut a tiny hole in the stretched balloon to put the funnel into; put the funnel on top of the bottle through that tiny hole; tape the funnel onto the bottle with masking tape and secure the funnel to the bottle again with a very large elastic band. Before pouring water into the funnel and now sealed bottle, let children predict what will happen when they pour water into the funnel. (N & M predicted that the water will flow into the bottle, as it had done before the bottle was sealed). Test predictions by pouring water into the funnel and now sealed up bottle. Observe that the water remains in the funnel does not flow into the bottle. (N & M exclaimed, “The water is stuck!” . Using their fingers, they even tried to push the water into the bottle, but the water still didn’t go into the bottle.)

{Propose Explanations} Let children propose why the water has remained in the funnel instead of flowing into the (sealed) bottle. Discuss what has changed; the bottle has been sealed off so things can’t get out. Now that the bottle is sealed, air can’t get out. Water can’t get into the bottle because it’s already full of air. Before we sealed up the bottle, air could easily get out of the bottle and make space for the water poured in through the funnel. {Modify Understandings} Although we can’t see air, we know it’s there and it takes up space.

N & M: 4 years, 1 month

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Questions and Answers

(If everything around us is matter, what about germs?)

Questions and Answers Main Index

(Why isn't matter being created or destroyed today?)

Q&A Main Index

How do you prove air is matter?

It took mankind tens of thousands of years to figure out that air existed, let alone that it was matter. It was only in recent human history that we figured out anything about air. Proving that air is matter is analogous to today's physics experiments where you cannot see the object of your study, but have to define its properties and its existence from indirect evidence.

We define matter as something which occupies space, is effected by gravity and has weight. Make a vessel that won't collapse if there is no air inside of it. Weigh the vessel when it is full of air. Then pump all of the air out and weigh the vessel again. The difference in weight is the weight of the air.

There is a famous experiment done by Otto Von Guericke in 1654 in Regensburg, Germany. Regensburg was a Roman outpost on the banks of the Danube River. If you ever go there, I highly recommend the Wirstkuke, an 850 year old restaurant near the river. It was there when Guericke was studying air and he may have had a dinner or two there. Anyway, to prove that air exists and has pressure he made a hollow sphere made of two copper halves and sealed it with a gasket. He used an air pump, which he also invented, to pump the air out of the sphere. Air pressure held the two halves of the sphere together. He then took two teams of horses and had them try to pull the sphere apart. They failed. Guericke then opened a valve that let the air back in and that is when the sphere fell apart under its own weight. The sphere was 14" in diameter meaning the air pressure exerted a force of approximately 4.5 tons.

The force would have been the same if one side of the sphere was attached to something fixed, like a really big rock, instead of another team of horses. Guericke might not have understood that or he might have just appreciated the drama of using two teams. Showmanship, you see, is important even in science.

Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. So, in order to prove that air is matter, we need to prove that air has mass and takes up space. It's easier to prove that air takes up space, so let's do that part of the problem first.

Go and get a balloon. While you're at it, get two balloons. Go ahead and inflate the balloons with air. The balloons get larger as you put air into them. The only way that air could make them get larger is if air takes up space, so half of our proof is complete. Tie the balloons closed so that they stay inflated - we will need both balloons for the second half of this problem.

Although air has mass, a small volume of air, such as the air in the balloons, doesn't have too much. Air just isn't very dense. We can show that the air in the balloon has mass by building a balance. For this, you will need a meter stick, some tape, some string and a sharp needle. Take some of the string and tie one end to the middle of the meter stick. Take the other end of the string and tape it to the top of a table or a counter, just make certain that the meter stick is free to move around. Tie a section of string to each balloon. On one balloon, make an "X" with two pieces of tape (if you want to be fair, you can make a tape "X" on the second balloon as well, but we really only need one). Take the balloons and tie each one to the meter stick, one on each end of the meter stick. Balance the meter stick by repositioning the balloons, if necessary.

So, at the moment, you should have two balloons hanging from a meter stick, one from each end. If one of the balloons changes mass, we will be able to tell because the meter stick will 'tilt' towards the more massive object. So, all you need to do is to let the air out of one of the balloons. Take the needle and CAREFULLY poke a hole in the center of the "X". You don't want to pop the balloon - you just want to make a hole so that the air will leak out. Hopefully, the tape will keep the balloon together...

What happened? If all went well, one balloon lost its air in a very calm, controlled fashion without sending its balloon guts all over the room. The end of the meter stick with the deflated balloon should have risen into the air. It did this because there was less mass in the balloon after it deflated. The only way the balloon could have lost mass is if the air that was inside it has mass.

With this experiment you have shown that air takes up space and has mass, so you have proven that air is matter.

Answer 1 - Brian Kross, Chief Detector Engineer ( Other answers by Brian Kross )

Answer 2 - Steve Gagnon, Science Education Specialist ( Other answers by Steve Gagnon )

Citation and linking information

For questions about this page, please contact Carol McKisson .

Write an experiment that shows that air occupies space.

The matter is anything that occupies space and has mass. air is a matter because it has mass and it occupies space. air occupies space- when we put an empty bottle in a bucket filled with water we see the bubbles of air coming out of the bottle when water gets inside it. the bottle which appears empty is in fact filled with air, and air has occupied that space. when water gets in the air in form of bubbles come out. hence, by this experiment, we see that air occupies space..

Give a simple experiment to show that matter occupies space.

How will you justify that air occupies a space?

Press Release

U.s. air force, johns hopkins apl hypersonic experiment soars and collects vital data.

The successful launch of the BOLT-1B experiment

Launched from Norway, the BOLT-1B experiment collected data about boundary layer transition (the flow of air around the skin of a hypersonic vehicle), which increases hypersonic vehicle drag and aerodynamic heating. That data will be used by researchers to validate new and more accurate modeling and prediction methods during the design of hypersonic vehicles.

Credit: Johns Hopkins APL

The Boundary Layer Transition 1B (BOLT-1B) experiment, a joint research project of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), blasted off from Andøya Space in Norway aboard a sounding rocket on Sept. 2. The experiment traveled over the Norwegian Sea at Mach 7.2 and provided a stream of important data on the physics of airflow at hypersonic speeds.

“The data we gathered from the flight experiment will be critical for improving methods for designing future hypersonic vehicles, so we can reduce modeling uncertainties and optimize their performance,” said APL’s Brad Wheaton, chief scientist with the Vehicle Design and Technologies Group in APL’s Force Projection Sector and the project’s principal investigator.

BOLT-1B’s mission is to study a phenomenon called boundary layer transition (the flow of air around the skin of a hypersonic vehicle), which increases hypersonic vehicle drag and aerodynamic heating. The scientific data collected from the test will be used by researchers to validate new and more accurate modeling and prediction methods during the design of hypersonic vehicles.

To collect this data, the experiment, designed and built by APL, was loaded with instruments to take more than 400 measurements, with locations on the vehicle determined by an extensive research effort to better understand the physics of boundary layer transition on the BOLT vehicle’s geometry. As planned, the test concluded with BOLT-1B impacting the ocean approximately 185 kilometers (115 miles) offshore.

BOLT-1B is sponsored by AFRL’s Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Much of the experiment’s research effort on BOLT is led by APL’s Force Projection Sector, with key support from the Laboratory’s Air and Missile Defense and Space Exploration sectors and the Research and Exploratory Development Department. The project also includes key collaborations with international allies.

Related Work

Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT)

Areas of impact.

Hypersonics
Systems Engineering

Mission Area

Precision Strike

The Applied Physics Laboratory, a not-for-profit division of The Johns Hopkins University, meets critical national challenges through the innovative application of science and technology. For more information, visit www.jhuapl.edu .

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Astronaut's 'science of opportunity' experiments help prepare for launch to the International Space Station

by Christine Giraldo, NASA

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit's Science of Opportunity on Space Station - NASA

Science ideas are everywhere. Some of the greatest discoveries have come from tinkering and toying with new concepts and ideas. NASA astronaut Don Pettit is no stranger to inventing and discovering. During his previous missions, Pettit has contributed to advancements for human space exploration aboard the International Space Station resulting in several published scientific papers and breakthroughs.

Pettit, accompanied by cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, will launch to the orbiting laboratory in September 2024. In preparation for his fourth spaceflight, read about previous "science of opportunity" experiments Pettit performed during his free time with materials readily available to the crew or included in his personal kit.

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit's Science of Opportunity on Space Station

Freezing ice in space

Have you ever noticed a white bubble inside the ice in your ice tray at home? This is trapped air that accumulates in one area due to gravity. Pettit took this knowledge, access to a -90° Celsius freezer aboard the space station, and an open weekend to figure out how water freezes in microgravity compared to on Earth. This photo uses polarized light to show thin frozen water and the visible differences from the ice we typically freeze here on Earth, providing more insight into physics concepts in microgravity.

Microgravity affects even the most mundane tasks, like sipping your morning tea. Typically, crews drink beverages from a specially sealed bag with a straw. Using an overhead transparency film, Pettit invented the prototype of the Capillary Beverage, or Space Cup. The cup uses surface tension , wetting, and container shape to mimic the role of gravity in drinking on Earth, making drinking beverages in space easier to consume and showing how discoveries aboard station can be used to design new systems.

Planetary formation

Using materials that break into very small particles, such as table salt, sugar, and coffee, Pettit experimented to understand planetary formation. A crucial early step in planet formation is the aggregation or clumping of tiny particles, but scientists do not fully understand this process. Pettit placed different particulate mixtures in plastic bags, filled them with air, thoroughly shook the bags, and observed that the particles clumped within seconds due to what appears to be an electrostatic process. Studying the behavior of tiny particles in microgravity may provide valuable insight into how material composition, density, and turbulence play a role in planetary formation.

Orbital motion

Knitting needles made of different materials arrived aboard station as personal crew items. Pettit electrically charged the needles by rubbing each one with paper. Then, he released charged water from a Teflon syringe and observed the water droplets orbit the knitting needle, demonstrating electrostatic orbits in microgravity. The study was later repeated in a simulation that included atmospheric drag, and the 3D motion accurately matched the orbits seen in the space station demonstration. These observations could be analogous to the behavior of charged particles in Earth's magnetic field and prove useful in designing future spacecraft systems.

Astrophotography

An innovative photographer, Pettit has used time exposure, multiple cameras, infrared, and other techniques to contribute breathtaking images of Earth and star trails from the space station 's unique viewpoint. These photos contribute to a database researchers use to understand Earth's changing landscapes, and this imagery can inspire the public's interest in human spaceflight .

Provided by NASA

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IMAGES

Experiment for kids
Air Occupies Space || Air takes up space || 5 Simple DIY science experiments for elementary kids
Air Occupies Space
Air Occupies Space
Air takes up space Experiment with paper boat
air occupies space floating ball experiment

VIDEO

Experiment air occupy space
Air Occupies Space Demonstration at SMS
"Air Occupies Space" Experiment for Primary Students by Ms. Kirti Pawar
class 7th air occupies space activities
Air Occupies Space😲🫧💨
This shows that air occupies space #science #asmr #education

COMMENTS

Air Experiments For Kids: Air Takes Up Space Experiment
First, fill the bowl with water. Next, get the first plastic without the hole. Crumple some pieces of paper and put it snugly at the bottom of the cup. Put the cup into the water upside down. Leave it in the bowl for 30 seconds or so. You will need to push it with your hand to keep it in place or else the cup will float back up.
Science Demonstration: Air Takes Up Space
If any air can get through the space between the funnel and the bottle, the experiment won't work! One good way to do this is to wrap the clay around the funnel first. Then squish the funnel and clay down into the bottle. Smooth out the clay with your finger and make sure there are no gaps. Pour water into the funnel and watch what happens!
Air Occupies Space
Does Air Take Up Space?In this video, we will do various experiments to understand this basic property of air that air takes up space. Yes, Air occupies spac...
Air Occupies Space
Air Occupies SpaceIt is known fact that humans along with other living beings breathe air to leave. Air is colorless and can't be seen but presence can felt ...
Very simple demonstration that shows air takes up space
Air takes up space! Extremely simple experiment that can be run with students of all ages. The whole point is that you dont need 'hard to get materials' to d...
Dunked Napkin
Although air is present in the room with other matter, a visual aid is necessary for an observer to "see" that air occupies a portion of space. In this experiment, a plastic cup containing both air and a crumpled napkin is turned upside down and placed into a container of water. Air and water cannot occupy the same space at the same time ...
Air Is Everywhere!
Part 1. Inflate two balloons and tie them. Use string to tie a balloon on each end of the ruler. Tie a short string to the middle of the ruler so that you can hold the string to where the ruler is suspended. Move the balloons until the ruler is balanced. Make a prediction of what will happen if one balloon is popped. Record your prediction.
Air takes up space
1. Place the ping pong ball into the clear container filled with water. 2. Put the glass over the ping pong ball so that the ball sits inside the glass. 3. Push the glass down into the water, while it is still over the ball. The water level should rise around the glass and the ball should remain dry. 4. Remove the glass from the water.
Hands-on Activity Air
After the experiment, discuss why the balloon did nothing. (Answer: Because air takes up space, the bottle was full of air. When you try to blow up the balloon, the air trapped inside the bottle prevents the balloon from inflating.) Make the point that even though air is invisible, it still takes up space. Also, discus how engineers need to ...
Investigating the atmosphere
Students experiment with syringes, balloons and water to become aware of and explore the concept of air. Students will be able to recognise that a gas, such as air, occupies space. Background. Air takes up space. A layer of air, called the atmosphere, surrounds the Earth like a thick blanket. Plants and animals use the air in the atmosphere to ...
Air: You Can't See It, But It's There!
After each child completes the experiment, discuss why the balloon did nothing. Because air takes up space, the bottle was full of air. When you try to blow up the balloon, the air trapped inside the bottle prevents the balloon from inflating. Simple Science Experiments, 1994, Evan-Moor Corporation.
Air Occupies Space
This is a very easy and fun-loving experiment for small kids at home. Small kids can do this experiment themselves and can demonstrate it in school. Materia...
Air Occupies Space Experiment and Worksheet
Essentially, this Air Occupies Space Experiment proves that air takes up space! By immersing a plastic cup, stuffed with kitchen paper, into a bowl of water, you can show this. The kitchen paper will remain dry. Because air is occupying the space, it's not been touched by the water! Show more. yassmi6749 - Verified member since 2023.
Air takes up Space (examples, videos, activities)
Science Projects or Science Experiments: Grades 3 & 4. Air takes up Space Very simple demonstration that shows air takes up space. Air takes up space! Extremely simple experiment that can be run with students of all ages. The whole point is that you don't need 'hard to get materials' to do this one. Air takes up space.
Balloon Balance Experiment (Air has Weight)
The weight of one cubic foot of air is 0.0807 pounds at 14.7 psi. If we compress the compressed air to 1000 psi, then the air weight per cubic foot is beyond 5 pounds. In this way, compressed air weight is calculated based on the pressure it is experiencing. Check out other air pressure experiments: Egg in a Bottle Experiment.
Does Air Take up Space? Experiment and Worksheet
Use this experiment and worksheet to help children explore and see that air takes up space. This science activity is a great visual experiment to show that air occupies space. Check out our 10 BT Young Scientist Ideas Blog to see other fantastic science experiments! Twinkl Twinkl Ireland Resources English Medium Schools 5th/6th Class SESE ...
Air Occupies Space
Available Video Sources: Vimeo YouTube. What is air? Can we see it? Dr. Greg Vogt uses simple objects to demonstrate that air occupies the space around us. Video presentation: Air Occupies Space.
Science: Simple Experiment
Using this simple experiment, we investigated an interesting characteristic of air. You will need a funnel; empty bottle; balloon, masking tape, rubber band, water. Put the funnel into the mouth of the bottle and before pouring water into the funnel, let children predict what will happen when they pour water into the funnel. (N & M predicted ...
Science (EVS) experiment for kids
An experiment for kids, teachers and parents to demonstrate how air occupies space. The following materials are required:A small container filled with waterA...
Questions and Answers
Showmanship, you see, is important even in science. Answer 2. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. So, in order to prove that air is matter, we need to prove that air has mass and takes up space. It's easier to prove that air takes up space, so let's do that part of the problem first. Go and get a balloon.
Write an experiment that shows that air occupies space.
Air is a matter because it has mass and it occupies space. Air occupies space-When we put an empty bottle in a bucket filled with water we see the bubbles of air coming out of the bottle when water gets inside it. The bottle which appears empty is in fact filled with air, and air has occupied that space. When water gets in the air in form of ...
Does air occupy space? Experiment 5
Yet another simple and interesting experiment to verify whether air occupies space.
U.S. Air Force, Johns Hopkins APL Hypersonic Experiment Soars and
BOLT-1B is sponsored by AFRL's Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Much of the experiment's research effort on BOLT is led by APL's Force Projection Sector, with key support from the Laboratory's Air and Missile Defense and Space Exploration sectors and the Research and Exploratory Development Department. The project also includes ...
Astronaut's 'science of opportunity' experiments help prepare for
Science ideas are everywhere. Some of the greatest discoveries have come from tinkering and toying with new concepts and ideas. NASA astronaut Don Pettit is no stranger to inventing and discovering.
Air Occupies Space
Learn about how air occupies space in this demonstration by Dr. Gregory Vogt of Baylor College of Medicine's Center for Educational Outreach.http://www.bioed...