You will need:
- One clear container filled with water
- Clear drinking glass
- Tissue paper
- Ping pong ball
Place the ping pong ball into the clear container filled with water.
Put the glass over the ping pong ball so that the ball sits inside the glass.
Push the glass down into the water, while it is still over the ball. The water level should rise around the glass and the ball should remain dry.
Remove the glass from the water.
Scrunch some paper into a ballput it into the glass.
Again place the glass, upside-down into the water and push down. The tissue paper should not get wet. Why?
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Why Does This Happen?
Air takes up space. It cannot get easier than this!
The pressure exerted by the air inside the glasses allows the air to exclude the water and the ping pong ball. Using the tissue just helps to show that air, not water, is trapped inside the glass.
You would have noticed the water level rise within the container as you pushed the glass down. This is due to displacement, whereby the water is pushed out of the way by the air inside the glass.
The same idea is applied when it comes to air locks in deep-sea diving bells. As long the air pressure is greater than the water pressure, the water will not enter the diving bell.
Variables to test
- Does this work with all liquids?
- What happens if you change the shape or size of the glass?
- Teaching about air pressure? Check out the Flight or Weather show!
- Teaching about Newton’s laws? Check out the Forces, Friction & Movement workshop!
Get in touch with FizzicsEd to find out how we can work with your class.
Flight or Weather
Years 3 to 6
Maximum 30 students
School science show (NSW & VIC)
60 minutes
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STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary
Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials.
This really helped me with my project….I was so desperate to find an example…thx for this amazing website..
Glad you like our website Holly!
how have you done virtual learning for ten years? Yall Must Be Good!!!!!!!!
It’s been interesting to see the changes over the years! You can find out more about these online programs here
fun experiment
Thanks! I hope the kids enjoyed it 🙂
it halped me with a project to!!!!….
Fantastic to hear this!
This is a very fun experiment
We’re glad that you enjoyed this Mairi!