Place the ball into the funnel. Blow through the funnel spout.
Can you get the ball to come out? Is there another way of blowing the ball out of the funnel?
Try blowing across the top of the funnel. This will work, but why?
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Get the Unit of Work on Pressure here!
- Want to dive into air pressure?
- It’s all about air pressure in many ways!
From how storms form to how planes fly, this unit covers many concepts about air pressure.
Includes cross-curricular teaching ideas, student quizzes, a sample marking rubric, scope & sequences & more
Why Does This Happen
Things move from high to low-pressure areas. The lower the pressure, the stronger the action. Think of a tornado – they have very low pressure in the middle of their funnel!
The mathematician Bernoulli found that moving air has less pressure than air that is still. The curved surface of the ball made the air travel faster below the ball than the still air above the ball. The moving air below the ball had less pressure, which sucked the ball into the funnel. The same idea can be applied to vortex smoke rings too!
Variables to test
- Does it make a difference with the size of the funnel?
- Can you do this with a heavier ball?
- What if you use a cube shape instead of a ball?
- 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.
Forces, Friction & Movement
Years K to 6
Maximum 30 students
School workshop
60 or 90 minutes
Online Class Available
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.
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