B Squared (Burning Balloons) 

Materials: 

One balloon filled with water

one balloon filled with air to an equal volume

and matches

  

 

Future Quicktime Movie and photos of the demo to go here!

Procedure: 

Hold the lit match to the balloon filled with air and it will pop immediately. Next, hold the lit match to the water balloon and notice that it will not pop. It is advisable not to hold the match in one place for too long, because it may eventually pop! You may want to one before the other one, depending on your application.

Concept: 

The air balloon explodes immediately because the heat from the lit match quickly burns through the rubber wall. The water balloon, does not explode because the water inside absorbs the heat and disperses it throughout the volume of water. It does not let the rubber wall get to it's melting point.

You can tie this demo into a lesson on heat capacities, melting points, heat absorption, conduction, etc. . . 

Credits: 

South Windsor High School, South Windsor, CT 06074

 

Subject Area:

General Science (7-12)

 

Concepts Covered: 

Inference 

 

 

 

 

Physical Menu

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