Air Pressure Curriculum

Section 3—Reinforcement Activities

A Microscopic View of Boyle's Law Using "Atomic Microscope 3-D"

This computer simulation (PDF 12 KB) enables students to get a 'microscopic' view of what is happening within the syringe as you increase or decrease the volume. This demonstration can be found at: http://www.starkdesign.com/products/. Alternatively, teachers could use: Virtual Molecular Dynamics Laboratory, free from the Boston University Center for Polymer Studies http://argento.bu.edu/vmd/.

The Balloon and the Bell Jar

This activity (PDF 22 KB) underscores how a balloon's shape and size is a result of the balance of pressure between the inside and the outside of the balloon, and highlights the importance of using a relational causal model to interpret what happens.

Revisiting Water in a Straw

Why can you put your finger on the end of a straw when it is in water and lift it out, and have the water stay in the straw? In this activity (PDF 16 KB), students explore this question using Boyle's Law to expand upon their reasoning from Section 2.

What Causes the Balloon to Get Pushed/Pulled Into the Flask?

In this activity (PDF 26 KB), students see a balloon get pushed/pulled into a flask as it cools. Using Charles' Law and relational causality, they can reason out what happened to realize that the pressure inside the flask is lower than the pressure outside of the flask, and that this pressure differential results in the balloon getting pushed into the flask.

Can Air Crush a Soda Can?

In this activity (PDF 68 KB), water is boiled inside a can so that the volume of the air and water vapor expands to fill the inside of the can. The can is then quickly inverted in a tub of cold water and the cooling of the inside air results in an air pressure differential between the inside and outside of the can. As a result, the can is crushed. This is a dramatic example of relational causality.

Making Connections Using Relational Causality

This activity (PDF 10 KB) is designed to help students transfer what they have learned about relational causality to a new set of questions. The sheet asks each student to choose two questions that interest him or her and to map them out as students have mapped out the relational causality for the activities in the lessons (the three flasks, balloon and flask, lift, and so on). The activity sheet is self-explanatory (once students have mapped the instances in the activities).

Mapping Relational Causality

This activity (PDF 255 KB) is designed to help students map out the variables in relational causality. It can be used with any example, particularly those from the lessons (the three flasks, balloon and flask, or paper tent, for instance).

Transferring Relational Causality

This activity sheet (PDF 14 KB) is designed to help students transfer relational causality. It starts with a balloon example and gives transfer examples for students to map out.

Charles' Law and the Rising Water

When a glass is placed over a burning candle in a plate of water, the water level rises significantly when the candle burns out. Using Charles' Law and relational causality, students realize through this activity (PDF 117 KB) that the combination of the quick decrease in the temperature of the air in the glass when the candle burns out and the condensation of the water vapor results in lower air pressure in the glass than outside the glass. Although it is difficult to tease apart which one of these variables has the more significant impact, both result in a lower air pressure inside the glass, which leads to the rising water in the glass.