Air is Everywhere
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Earth Science Benchmark II: Describe the structure of Earth and its atmosphere and explain how energy, matter, and forces shape Earth’s systems.
Performance Objective: Students already know that air is a substance that surrounds Earth (atmosphere), takes up space, and moves, and that temperature fluctuation and other factors produce wind currents. In this experiment, they will prove that this is true, air does indeed have volume.
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Demonstration/Background Information: The teacher will review the properties of air. She will ask open-ended questions to start the students thinking about the topic, such as: Where is air? How do we know its location? Can you see it? She will expect various answers, some silly and others thoughtful. What’s volume? Does air have volume? Can you prove it? Students must read the entire worksheet before beginning the investigation. They will ask for clarification, if necessary.
Activity: In this activity, students will investigate air and volume.
Effective Question: Air is made up of invisible gases and it takes up space, but does it have volume? Write a hypothesis below.
Hypothesis: We believe that ___________________________________________________.
Materials: water, funnel with a very narrow tip, small clear plastic bottle, sharpened pencil, modeling clay
Safety Precaution: Wear goggles when using liquids; avoid spills; clean up spills immediately to prevent accidents.
Procedure:
Students will work in pairs, gather materials, be aware of all safety precautions, and follow the steps below. With each step, students must think about what is happening. They must answer the effective questions as they complete the steps in the experiment.
1. Set the funnel inside the neck of the bottle. Think about what’s filling up the inside of the “empty” bottle. Answer:
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2. Pour water through the funnel until the bottle is halfway filled. Is there still air in the bottle? What happened to it? Answers:
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3. Empty the water out of the bottle and replace the funnel.
4. Wrap a “collar” of modeling clay around the mouth of the bottle, so that it seals in the funnel. It must be airtight! Why must the seal be airtight?
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5. Try again to pour water through the funnel into the bottle. What happens? What’s blocking the water from flowing in? Answer:
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6. Now use the sharpened pencil to poke holes in the clay collar. What happens? How did the air that was trapped in the bottle escape? Answer:
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Analyze and Conclude:
Students must take time to reflect on what was learned. Then complete the following questions:
1. Was your hypothesis correct? Explain your answer.
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2. What is your final conclusion about this investigation? Does air have volume? Can you think of another way to prove this?
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(Education.com, 2013)