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Experiment No. 9

Under Pressure

Experiment: To show that by lowering air pressure, you can make two pieces of paper come together.

Materials:

You will need:

Two strips of paper - about 15cm long
Your mouth - and lots of puff!

Method:

What you have to do:

1) Get your two strips of paper and hold them either side of your mouth.

2) Blow through the strips of paper and see what happens.

Result: The strips of paper will come together, instead of blowing apart.

Conclusion: By blowing air through the centre of the paper you are creating a lower pressure. Therefore the higher pressure outside the paper pushes them together.

AND NOW:

Try this: Take one strip of paper and hold it against your bottom lip. The paper should be hanging in front of your chin - long ways. Blow very hard and note what happens. Yes, it should rise - the lower pressure air (or faster moving air) is moving across the top of the paper. Therefore the air under the paper is at higher pressure and it forces the paper to lift. This is the principle behind flight - so next time you are in an airplane, think about it!!

Fourth Class Experiments