Monday 10/13
In this lab, a student laid on an enclosed garbage bag while 4 classmates blew up the bag by blowing air through the straws located on each corner of the bag. The purpose of the lab was to show how powerful air pressure can be, and it showed this by proving that air can lift up a whole human.
Tuesday 10/14
We completed two labs this day. First, we filled a can with heated tap water and placed it upside down in a room temperature beaker of water. The can got crumpled up because when the molecules decreased in temperature, they moved in the can slower, causing the can to decrease in size since the molecules now occupy less space than when the can was hot.
Second, we drank a juice box in order to show how air pressure is involved in using a straw.
Thursday 10/16
On this day, our concept of air pressure was deepened through a couple different labs. First, we filled a tube with water, placed the end of the tube in a plate of water, and discussed what would've happened if the tube was filled with mercury. The liquid rises up the tube only as high as the air pressure pushing on the liquid in the plate allows. Water fills the whole meter tube while mercury leaves space at the top since it is too heavy for the air pressure to push it all the way up the tube. The space left at the top is called a vacuum.
Also, we placed 2 plates next to each other, attached the valve to an air pump, and removed all the air from between the two objects. The objects are impossible to pull apart because of the air pressure pushing on both sides, as demonstrated in the video below.
Friday 10/17
Today, we discussed manometers - both open and closed. We then completed example problems in order to show how to calculate gas pressure using a manometer. To find gas pressure in a closed manometer, you just need to calculate the height of the mercury in millimeters. (mmHg) To find gas pressure in an open manometer, you take the Air Pressure minus the height of the mercury.
