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How to Demonstrate Air Pressure with Can Crush Experiment

You are probably familiar with blood pressure and its health-related symptoms. but do you know what pressure really is and what effect can it have on our environment join us today while we explore this topic with a simple can crush experiment, article contents.

What is the air pressure?

Atmospheric or air pressure is a force applied on a surface by the air above because of the influence of gravity . Gravity is pulling down the air molecules and they are pressing their weight on top of the Earth’s surface.

The pressure is highest at sea level , where there is the highest density of those air molecules. As the altitude increases, the atmospheric pressure drops.

The amount of oxygen in the air also decreases with the pressure decreasing. The higher we go, the lower the pressure and amount of oxygen. That is why at high altitudes, we can feel dizzy and sick due to the lack of oxygen.

Besides altitude, the amount of humidity is an important influence on air pressure. Water molecules in the air, contained in the water vapor, weigh less than the oxygen (and other gas molecules) so as the air becomes more humid, it’s lighter and therefore the pressure is lower.

At sea level, air pressure affecting our body is approximately 15 tons! But that pressure won’t crush us since there is also an inner pressure of equal size so they nullify each other.

The atmospheric pressure is measured using a barometer . As the weight of the atmosphere changes, mercury in a glass tube rises or falls. The mercury rises when the atmospheric pressure is high.

Materials Needed for the Air Pressure Experiment

• Empty can. A standard soda can or beer can will do great for our experiment. These aluminum cans can be easily obtained in any grocery store since many beverages come packed in cans.
• Bowl of Water . Put some cold water into a bowl or a basin. It doesn’t have to be ice cold, just regular cold water from the pipe will be enough.
• Kitchen Tongs . We will need something to hold a hot can, and kitchen tongs are the best tool we can use for that.
• Heater or stove. For getting the water inside of the can boiling, we need a heater. We can use our kitchen stove to achieve our goal.
• Optional: Spoon and Funnel . The spoon and funnel will help us in adding a little bit of water inside of the can. We can just add water directly from the pipe so this is optional. But for demonstration purposes, it is good to show adding water in the can.

Instructions on doing the Can Crush Experiment

If you’re interested in a video guide, you can watch the video at the beginning of the article. And for step-by-step instructions and explanations, continue reading further.

• Put one or two tablespoons of water (around 15 milliliters) into the empty can . Here you can use a funnel and spoon to demonstrate the procedure. Or you can add the same amount of water directly from the pipe if you are not demonstrating the experiment to other people.
• Prepare cold water in some container that is big enough to sink the can in it. We will do that in just a minute.
• Heat the can until the water inside starts to boil . For this, you can use the stove or a heater. Since the amount of water inside the can is small to hear water bubbling, you can tell that it is boiling when you notice steam coming out of the can.
• Use the kitchen tongs to grab the can. Be careful, the can is very hot so use tongs to not get burned. Turn the can upside down and sink it in the cold water container .
• You will instantly hear a loud pop and the can will crush because of the pressure difference.

Science Behind The Air Pressure Experiment

So what happened to the can? Why did it get crushed? By heating up our can, we boiled the water inside it. The process of boiling turned the water into vapor. And since the water vapor molecules are much more spread out than the water molecules, they take more space and are forcing the molecules of air out from the can.

And when we put the can in the cold water, we suddenly cooled it. That cooling caused the water vapor in the can to condense, creating a partial vacuum . Because of that, the pressure outside of the can became much greater than the pressure inside, and that pressure difference crushed the can .

So in summary, a can will get crushed when the pressure outside is greater than the pressure inside of the can. Also, the pressure difference must be greater than the one the can is able to withstand . For example, we can easily crush an aluminum can with our hands. When we squeeze the can, the pressure outside becomes greater than the pressure inside. If we squeeze hard enough the can collapses.

This phenomenon also has a name – implosion! As you may guess, an implosion is the opposite of an explosion. Implosion is a process in which objects are destroyed by collapsing on themselves. Implosion reduces the volume of an object and concentrates matter and energy into a smaller space.

We may also ask ourselves: “Won’t the water from the bowl fill the can through the hole when we sink the can?” Some water may actually come inside of the can, but the water cannot flow into the can fast enough to fill it before the air outside crushes it.

What will you develop and learn by doing the Can Crush experiment?

• Knowledge from chemistry and physics
• What is the atmospheric pressure and how does it work
• How is pressure affecting the human body
• What is Implosion
• How to conduct an experiment

We hope you enjoyed this science activity as much as we did. And if you are searching for more similar science experiments, we have the right ones for you:

• For another method to demonstrate air pressure, check out How to Demonstrate Air Pressure with Balloon experiment.
• To learn more about oxygen effects, check out the Apple Oxidation Experiment activity .
• Check the Diffusion experiment to learn the different properties in hot and cold water.
• For Heat effects, you can check activity What is heat conduction and how to demonstrate it .
• And to learn more about heat effects on different materials, check the Shrinking bag experiment .

And until next time, happy exploring!

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Crushing Can Experiment : Effect of Atmospheric Pressure

• December 3, 2020
• 7-9 Year Olds , Physics , Rainy Day Science

You may be used to crushing can using foot or hand. Have you crushed it using an implosion?

Today were are going to explore effect of Atmospheric Pressure with ‘Crushing Can Experiment’.

Air Pressure Can Crusher Experiment

The pressure created in the air surrounding us plays an important role while doing this activity.

Objective: To crush the empty soda can and explore simple science concepts like air pressure, equilibrium, water vapor, condensation, and unbalanced forces.

Hypothesis: If water in a can heated to reach its boiling point and then dipped by inverting in a cold bowl of water, this would create vacuum and result in decreased vapor pressure resulting in crushing of the can (implosion).

Safety Measures: Of course, the activity looks simple and easy while offering a lot of fun! But this experiment is in need of a burner or any other heat source and implosion happens suddenly. So, this experiment is not to be done by kids. However, under adult supervision, the activity can be explored.

Materials Mandatory to Gather:

• A Glass Bowl
• Empty Cans (we chose 3 empty soda cans)
• Burner or Stove or any other heating source

Simple Guide to the procedure of the Crushing Can Experiment

Let us step into the simple instructions guide!

Step-1: Clean all the Necessary Containers

Cleaning is the foremost and important step to do before we start any experiment. Because the remnants attached to the glass bowls and other containers may change the final results of the experiment.

So, in the process of cleaning, pick the empty soda cans and glass bowls. And rinse them thoroughly with clean water. Make sure they are clean and perfect for using in the experiment.

Step-2: Pour Cold Water into the glass bowl

Take the cleaned glass bowl and fill it with fresh ice cubes to its half. Then pour some normal water into the bowl. Such that we are making sure the water in the bowl are cold for longer time.

Or else you can use cold or chilled water directly from the freezer and pour it in the glass bowl.

Step-3: Fill the Empty Cans

Now it is time to fill the cleaned empty soda cans with a little amount of water. 2-3 table spoons of water is more than enough to pour into the cans.

Normal and regular water is preferred to use. But make sure the water you are using is fresh and clean.

Step-4: Heat the Cans

The next step is the precautionary step as we are bringing burner into the picture. Yes, switch on the burner and take the water filled cans on to the burner. You can see the videos or pictures attached to get an idea.

We took three empty cans and filled with 2 table spoons of normal water. Then, we brought all these three water filled cans on to the burner and set the right temperature to make it boil.

Wait for some time until the water inside the cans are boiled enough. It just takes a couple of minutes to do the job.

Note: If your child is performing this experiment on his/her own, then this is the step where adult supervision is compulsory to avoid unnecessary accidents that happen with the heat. So, adults please supervise your children to heat the cans on the burner.

Step-5: Take out the Heated Can

Once you feel the sounds of water bubbles formed due to enough heat supplied to the water inside the cans, wait for one more minute.

And then observe the water vapor fumes coming out of the cans. That is the time, you need to switch off the burner and take out the cans from the burner.

Do not forget to use the tongs in order to handle the heated cans.

Step-6: Place over the heated can upside down into the Glass Bowl

This is another important step to do with extra care!

Yes, to see the positive results, you need to perform this step with utmost care.

Soon after you remove the cans from the burner, using tongs place the cans over the glass bowl filled with cold water.

The trick here is you need to place the cans upside down into the glass bowl. That’s it! You can see and hear a loud noise of popping out sound from the can.

Can you guess why we hear that sound? That’s the sound of the crushing can!

As soon as the heated cans brought in to the glass bowl filled with cold water upside down, the cans get crushed and collapses on their own.

Crushing Can Experiment Calculations

In this modern world, we generally come in touch with 12oz drink cans like soda or beverages can.

Mostly, we find them in aluminum material. The approximate measures of these cans are like: 4.75 inches or 12cm in height and 2.5 inches or 6.5cm in diameter which in total makes the whole area of this cylindrical can to 49.5 square inches or 315 square cm.

The dimensions of the cans are also designed specially in order to withstand the outside pressures. A square inch of a soda can bears 80-90 pounds of force from outside.

One atmosphere pressure force is equals to 720lbs or 3200newtons. So, in order to crush a soda can, you need to give nearly 50 pounds of force.

Do you want to know what the science behind Crushed Can?

An empty aluminum soda can is full of air molecules. When you apply enough force or pressure on the can from outside, there happens an imbalance between the pressures outside and inside the can.

In fact, the pressure outside the can is stronger and more than the pressure inside the can.

At the time, the can from outside experiences enough pressure, it collapses and gets crushed immediately. This is how air pressure plays important role in crushing an aluminum can in our hands.

Let us know what is air pressure? Air pressure is the pressure or force created by the surrounding air on the surfaces within the atmosphere as gravity pulls. Hence, it is otherwise known as atmospheric pressure.

Science behind Crushing Can Experiment

As I already told you, the empty can is not really empty instead filled with air molecules.

When the can filled with little water and arranged for heating on the burner, the water inside the can starts boiling.

Once the water starts boiling, there happens the transformation of liquid state to gaseous state.

This means we can observe water vapors coming out of the can through the fumes. Evaporation is the process of converting liquids into gases, which is the result of heating cans on the burner.

Eventually, the can is filling with vapors replacing the air molecules. Soon after you remove the cans from the burner and bring it over the chilled water in a bowl, the water vapor condenses.

You can see the condensation process clearly when there is formation of a few drops of liquid back on the can inside.

Unfortunately, these little liquid droplets are not strong enough to produce enough pressure inside the can. That is the reason the pressure outside the can is much more and stronger than the pressure inside the can.

Hence, the strong pressure developed outside the can is good enough to crush the can from outside.

Here, we need to talk about “Implosion”. Implosion is nothing but a sudden process of something collapsing themselves towards inside violently.

Implosions happen when there is heavy pressure from outside an object rather inside and finally destroys the object inwards. Explosion is quite opposite to implosion.

Matter and energy plays important role in causing explosions and implosions.

In this experiment, due to imbalance of pressures between outside and inside surroundings of can, implosions happens.

Because to maintain and bring the balance between outside and inside pressures of can.

 What happens after Implosion?

After implosion, just observe the inside of the can, you can observe water filled inside the can. This is the water dragged from the glass bowl due to stronger pressure build outside the can.

This high pressure created pulls the water from the glass bowl into the can where there is less pressure.

What is Gas Law and How it works?

Gas laws are the laws which establishes the association among pressure, volume, temperature, and the quantity of gas. In simple words, gas laws were designed around 16th-17 th century to learn the amazing properties of matters of gas regarding amount, volume, pressure, and temperature.

Generally, there are different types of gases available and all these gases behave differently while showing their chemical properties but strictly follow gas laws in the same way.

P= Pressure

n= Amount of Substance

R= Ideal Gas Constant

T= Temperature

The three principal and basic laws of gas includes: 1) Boyle’s Law

                                                                                           2) Charles Law

                                                                                           3) Avogadro’s Law

These three gas laws states different equations and properties but at the end they all come under Ideal Gas Law and General Gas Equation. Well, let us the three main gas laws in detail:

Boyle’s Law

Robert Boyle put Boyle’s Law into words in 1662 stating that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to volume of a gas. To keep it simple, if there is less volume of gas then there is more pressure on the gas at constant temperature. This law is otherwise known as Boyle–Mariotte law or Pressure-Volume Law.

V is inversely proportional to 1/P

Charles Law

Jacques Charlesformulated Charles Law that states that when pressure remains constant, the volume of stable amount of gas is directly proportional to temperature. In simple words, the rise in the volume of gas tends to increase the temperature as well. This law is otherwise known as Temperature-Volume Law.

Avogadro’s Law

Amedeo Avogadro established the Avogadro’s Law which states that volume of a gas is directly proportional to amount of gas at constant temperature and pressure. Modern Avogadro’s Law states that equal amount of volume of gas consists of equal amount of molecules at constant temperature and pressure. This law is otherwise known as Volume-Amount Law.

All these experimental gas laws are a part of Ideal Gas or General Gas Equation Law. Let us see what ideal or general gas equation law is.

Ideal Gas Law

Ideal Gas Law is also known as General Gas Equation Law. It states that it is a combination of all three gas laws and finally proves that pressure, volume, temperature, and amount of a gas relate each other. The gases that are fit to establish perfect relation between volume, temperature, pressure, and amount of gases are referred as ideal gases. The equation says:

When the aluminium can is hot, the pressure outside and inside the hot can are same. And when it is flipped upside down over the glass bowl containing cold water, immediately you can see sudden drop in temperature. Hence, the water molecules get cool rapidly causing imbalance in the outside and inside pressures around the can. The pressure outside the can is stronger and more compared to the pressure inside and hence the can pops out and collapses itself towards inside.

Crushing Can Experiment proves the Boyle’s Law, which is one of the major fundamental and experimental gas law of ideal gas equation law. Boyle’s law states that the volume of certain amount of gas is inversely proportional to pressure of a gas.

According to the sources and research studies, 10-20 pounds of force is necessary to crush an aluminium can. If you just want to open the mouth of the aluminium can, you need 1-2 pounds of force. Whereas nearly 50 pounds of force is necessary for crushing a steel beverage can. Remember that these numbers are just an estimated ones.

Take an empty aluminium soda can and pour two table spoons of normal fresh water. Now bring the can on to the burner and heat it until you hear the boiling water sound. When you observe the steam coming out of the can, switch off the burner. And pick the hot can using tongs and carefully flip it upside down over the glass bowl containing chilled water. That’s it, you can see the hot can crushing with a pop sound.

Jacques Charles formulated Charles Law that states that when pressure remains constant, the volume of stable amount of gas is directly proportional to temperature. In simple words, the rise in the volume of gas tends to increase the temperature as well. This law is otherwise known as Temperature-Volume Law. V T

Soda cans are generally encompasses of aluminium to keep its structure solid and strong enough to withhold the outside pressures. A regular soda can bears 80 pounds-90 pounds of pressure per every square inch. According to the research studies, 1pound-2pound force is necessary to open the mouth of the soda can whereas to crush it completely, nearly 50 pounds of force is necessary.

We have so many real life examples to discover Charles law around us but we just ignore to observe. Here is a classic example: the tyres of vehicles get deflated during chilled winter season whereas the same gets inflated during summer months: this phenomenon is due to Charles Law. During winter days, because of chilled temperature, the gas inside tyres get more cool and starts shrinking as well. While during summer months, due to hot temperature the sir inside tyres gets hot and starts expanding. This is the reason why tyres of some vehicles expand during summer and deflate during winter months.

Charles law does show its impact on human body but it is not much. You all might have observed shortened breath during winters and normal breathing during summer months. This is because of Charles law. Yes, during winter months, the chilled temperature outside causes the change in inside temperature of lungs. The inhaled cold air when passes through sinuses, gets warmed and expands in its volume. When the volume increases, you need to take shorter breaths in order to balance the increased volume. In this way, Charles law affects human body.

A: In real life, we can observe a lot of things happening around us which are actually related to ideal gas laws. Let us see a few of commonly happening things: 1) An inflated football shrinks when left aside during winter months—Proves Charles Law 2)  Leave the slightly inflated rubber life raft under sun light for some hours and observe the swelling of the raft– Proves Charles Law 3) Increase in number of bubbles blowing out by a scuba diver especially when approaching the surface or river banks—Proves Boyle’s Law 4) Death of deep sea fish when brought to the surface or land– Proves Boyle’s Law 5) Expansion of lungs when filled with air and shrinks when air released—Proves Avogadro’s Law 6) Humid air is more thick than damp air—Proves Avogadro’s Law

Gases have low densities than solids and liquids because in solids and liquids the molecules are tightly and narrowly filled. Whereas gaseous molecules do not pack up closely and occupy more volumes because these molecules fall apart. This is the reason why gases have low densities.

Before heating, the air pressure outside and inside the open soda can measures equal. Because the open can is not really empty instead occupied with air molecules.

When you pour two table spoons of water inside can and kept on the burner, the water reaches its boiling point and leaves steam. This steam occupies the rest portion of the can inside and substitutes all the air molecules.

The process of conversion of a gas into a liquid is known as condensation. The reverse process of conversion of a liquid turning in to gas is known as evaporation. Evaporation and condensation are the nature’s fundamental phenomenon and goes hand in hand.  

Crushing Can Experiment Worksheets

Simple worksheet for Class room : https://www.wlwv.k12.or.us/cms/lib/OR01001812/Centricity/Domain/2114/Can%20Crush%20Key.pdf

https://www.csub.edu/chemistry/_files/The%20Can%20CrusherAO.pdf

Explanation with method to do the experiment in large setup : https://www.flinnsci.com/api/library/Download/12267d76eaf04431b63a82777bb16195

Interesting Air Pressure Experiments

Balloon in a Bottle

Tornado In a Bottle

Drip Drop Water Bottle

Candle Rising Water Experiment

DIY Balloon Rocket

One comment

How is the can crushed if it is not sealed? Surely it would simply suck up the cold water you mention that is used for condensing the steam.

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How to Crush a Can with Air Pressure

Last Updated: May 1, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Meredith Juncker, PhD . Meredith Juncker is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Her studies are focused on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 215,810 times.

You can crush a soda can using nothing more than a heat source and a bowl of water. This is a great visual demonstration of some simple scientific principles, including air pressure and the concept of a vacuum. The experiment can be performed by teachers as a demonstration, or by mature students under supervision.

Crushing a Soda Can

• Continue only with adult supervision.

• If you smell something strange or metallic, move on to the next section right away. The water might have boiled away, or the heat might have been too high, causing the ink or aluminum on the can to melt. [3] X Research source
• If your stove burner cannot support the soda can, use a hot plate, or use tongs with heat-resistant handles to hold the soda can over the stove.

• Be prepared for a loud noise as the can is rapidly crushed! Because of the sound, avoid performing the experiment around children younger than kindergarten-age.

How it Works

• Despite the can losing some of the air inside it, it doesn't get crushed yet, because the water vapor that took the place of the air is pushing from the inside instead.
• In general, the more you heat a liquid or a gas, the more it expands. If it is an enclosed container so it can't keep expanding, it exerts more pressure. This is known as Gay-Lussac’s Law.

• Space that has nothing in it is called a vacuum .

Helping Students Learn from the Experiment

• If a student thinks the water (not the water vapor) inside the can was responsible for it getting crushed, have the students fill an entire can with water, and see if it is crushed.
• Try the same experiment with a sturdier container. The heavier material should take longer to be crushed, which will give the ice water more time to fill it.
• Try letting the can cool for a short time before putting it in the ice bath. This will result in more air being present in the can, and thus less severe crushing.

Expert Q&A

• Lower the can into the water with the tongs, rather than dropping it. Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 8

• Older children (ages 12+) may be able to do the activity themselves, but only under adult supervision! Never allow more than one person to do the demonstration at a time, unless there is more than one supervisor present. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 8
• The can and the water inside will be hot. Have participants stand back as the can is flipped into the water, to avoid getting injured from hot water spray. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 5

Things You'll Need

• Empty aluminum soda cans
• Tongs large enough to comfortably handle the hot cans
• Stove, hot plate, or Bunsen burner
• Bowl of cold water

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.physics.colostate.edu/physics-demos/can-crush-by-air-pressure/
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHzb8QMeZmI
• ↑ https://circus.physics.ucsb.edu/2021/12/07/crushing-soda-cans-with-air-pressure/
• ↑ http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/incredible-can-crusher

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Colorado State University

College of natural sciences, department of physics, can crush by air pressure.

Want to check out this demo?

Visit the reservation page , main demo categories: 0 homepage (1) 1 mechanics (107) 2 fluid mechanics (35) 3 oscillations and waves (55) 4 thermodynamics (35) 5 electricity & magnetism (110) 6 optics (49) 7 modern physics (18) 9 equipment (59) in storage (31) new demos in the last year (1), this demo is part of the following categories: 2b30 atmospheric pressure.

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FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• Air Pressure Experiments: I Can't Take the Pressure!

Hands-on Activity Air Pressure Experiments: I Can't Take the Pressure!

Grade Level: 5 (4-6)

Time Required: 1 hour

Expendable Cost/Group: US $1.00

Group Size: 4

Activity Dependency: None

Associated Informal Learning Activity: I Can't Take the Pressure!

Subject Areas: Algebra

NGSS Performance Expectations:

Curriculum in this Unit Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Nested under units are lessons (in purple) and hands-on activities (in blue). Note that not all lessons and activities will exist under a unit, and instead may exist as "standalone" curriculum.

• Air Composition Pie Charts: A Recipe for Air
• Air - Is It Really There?
• Environmental History Timeline
• Barometric Pressure: Good News – We're on the Rise!
• Dripping Wet or Dry as a Bone?
• Turning the Air Upside Down
• Word Origins & Metaphors: Take Their Word for It!
• Weather Forecasting: How Predictable!

TE Newsletter

Engineering connection, learning objectives, materials list, worksheets and attachments, more curriculum like this, introduction/motivation, troubleshooting tips, activity extensions, activity scaling, user comments & tips.

Air pressure is a concept that is important for engineers from all fields to understand. For instance, environmental engineers must understand air pressure because it affects the way in which air pollution travels through the air. Especially in highly populated areas, engineers work with local communities to understand their unique weather and atmospheric conditions, and suggest public and industry behavior and policy changes to keep the air quality at a safe level for breathing. They also create new prevention technologies that address air pollution at the sources.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Compare atmospheric pressure (in psi) to the pressure exerted by an object (weight per unit area, in psi).
• Explain why air pressure changes with altitude.
• Identify the locations of high and low pressure in an experiment.
• Describe how engineers must understand air pressure because it affects the way in which air pollution travels via air.
• Identify aspects of pressure that are important to consider in engineering aircraft designs.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science.

Common Core State Standards - Math

View aligned curriculum

Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

State standards, colorado - math, colorado - science.

Student Activity 1: The Strength of Air Pressure

• activity worksheets (3) and reference sheet, 1 set per student; How Great Is Atmospheric Pressure? - Worksheet 1 , Amount of Air Pressure on a Square Table and Graph - Worksheet 2 , Air Pressure Chart - Worksheet 3 , Air Pressure vs. Altitude Data and Graph Reference Sheet
• graph paper, 1-square-inch grid; 1 sheet per student; online source of printable graph paper: http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6169.html
• index cards, 1 per student
• sets of 4 objects that will be weighed, such as a textbook, novel, magazine and dictionary; 1 set per group (have one group weigh themselves as the objects)
• tape, to share with the class
• balance (triple beam, small digital, bathroom scale, etc.), to share with the class

Student Activity 2: Air Pressure and Altitude

• Necco or Vanilla Wafers, or colored tiles/blocks, 14 per student
• paper, pencil, ruler; for each student
• (optional) 1 gallon of water, to show students what 8.5 lbs. of weight feels like

Demo 1: Aluminum Can Crush

• 1 aluminum soda can
• 1 large beaker or bucket
• 1 hot plate
• 1 pair of tongs
• 1 cup tap water
• bucket of ice water
• (optional) trivet, to prevent damage to counter top from heated can

Pressure is defined as the amount of force applied per unit area or as the ratio of force to area (P = F/A). The pressure an object exerts can be calculated if its weight (the force of gravity on an object) and the contact surface area are known. For a given force (or weight), the pressure it applies increases as the contact area decreases.

To better understand this, have students hold a large book flat on their outstretched hands and notice how much pressure the book puts on it. Then, have them try to balance the book on the tip of their index fingers. How much pressure does it seem to exert now?

It is also important to note that air pressure decreases with increasing altitude (see Figure 1 and Table 1). Table 1 lists the air pressure for specific elevations. See the Air Pressure vs. Altitude Data and Graph Reference Sheet for more detailed comparison.

Pressure is measured in various units. Scientists and engineers typically use the metric unit Pascal (Pa). A Pascal is defined as the pressure exerted by a 1 Newton weight (1 kg under Earth's force of gravity) resting on an area of 1 square meter. Below is a list of some of the common units used to measure pressure , and their equivalents. Please note that there are many other units that may be used.

At sea level, the atmospheric air pressure can be represented as any of the following:

• 1.013 x 10 5 Pa (Pascal or N/m 2 )
• 1 atm (atmosphere)
• 760 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury)
• 14.7 lb/in 2 (psi, pounds force per square inch; if 1-pound weight rests on 1-square inch of surface area, the pressure is 1 psi)

Humans are relatively permeable to air (it can move easily in and out of our bodies) and that is why our internal pressure stays the same as the pressure of the surrounding (ambient) air. This is the same reason why fish are not crushed in the depths of the ocean; they are permeable to water. Although the atmosphere exerts a significant amount of pressure on everything in our environment, the only time most people are aware of air pressure is when it changes (such as changes in altitude, for example, as you drive up a mountain).

As you climb in elevation, the atmospheric pressure decreases while the pressure in your middle ear may remain constant, causing a difference in pressure. This pressure difference causes your eardrums to bulge and possibly produce pain. Yawning relieves the pain because the action opens the small Eustachian tubes between your ear and pharynx allowing air to escape from your middle ear into the atmosphere though your nose and mouth. As the pressure is equalized, your ear "pops" when the eardrum snaps back into its normal position.

Engineers who design airplanes study air pressure. Airplane cabins are "pressurized." This means the inside of the plane maintains a constant pressure of about 14 pounds per square inch regardless of the pressure outside of the cabin. At high altitudes, the air has a very low pressure, which affects the way we breathe. This same effect occurs when people move from sea level locations, such as New York City, to the mountains, such as Denver, CO. Often, it takes a few weeks for their bodies to adjust to the lower pressure.

Before the Activity

• Gather materials and make copies of the reference sheet and three worksheets ( 1 , 2 , 3 ).
• If balances and scales are not available in your classroom, determine the mass of the objects before class and provide students with the information.
• Practice the aluminum can demonstration.
• Ask students to define air pressure. If necessary, remind them the properties of air: it has mass, it takes up space, it can move, it exerts pressure (it pushes on things) and it can do work.
• Ask: How strong is atmospheric air pressure? (Is it as much pressure as an ant standing on 1 square inch would exert? Or, an elephant? Or, 12 elephants?)
• Tell students they are going to compare the pressure that different objects exert on the Earth (due to gravity) to atmospheric air pressure.
• Divide the class into groups of four students each.
• Distribute to each group the worksheets, graph paper, index cards and four objects (for one group, the four objects could be themselves).
• Have the students determine the mass of their objects and record it on the worksheet 1 (see Figure 2). Direct the group that is weighing themselves to each stand on one flat foot on the scale while the measurement is made.

• Direct students to place their object on the grid paper in the same orientation as it was when it was on the balance (the position does not affect the mass, but it affects the contact/surface area value and thus, the ultimate pressure). Have students carefully trace around the object, add up the squares and record the contact area on their worksheets. Have the group that is weighing themselves trace around the foot they stood on. Students may need some help estimating and rounding for partial squares.
• Have students record on their worksheets the data for every group member.
• Ask students to calculate the pressure that each of the objects exerts. (P = F/A, in this case F = weight of the object.)
• Have students write the name of their objects and the resulting pressures on index cards and tape them to the classroom board.
• Have students rearrange the cards in order of increasing pressure.
• On their worksheets, have students predict which object they think has the closest value to the air pressure around them and explain why. Ask a few students to share their predictions.
• Share the actual value of the air pressure with the students (about 14.7 psi at sea level). Were they surprised with the results?
• Ask the class: Does air pressure change with altitude? If so, how does it change? Why do they think this happens?
• Direct students to each build a tower using wafers or colored tiles/blocks that is 14-wafers tall (see Figure 3).

• Ask students: How does this model represent air pressure changing with altitude? (Listen to student explanations.) Explanation: Imagine that the wafers are the air in the atmosphere and that the bottom wafer is at sea level—the lowest point in the troposphere. The top wafer is a higher layer in the stratosphere or some place like the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Imagine that you are standing at sea level, the level of the bottom wafer. The air pressure at sea level is the highest, because at that point all the air (wafers) is pressing on everything. Now imagine that you are standing on/near the top of the stack, at a higher altitude. Here, much less air (fewer wafers) are pressing on each other, thus the air pressure is less than at sea level.
• Share the sea level air pressure with students (14.7 psi) and the air pressure in your city (for example, Denver, CO, at one-mile high, is about 12.4 psi).
• Ask students to describe in their own words how air pressure changes with altitude, recording their information on worksheet 1.
• Variation: Stack books or pillows in students' laps/arms so they can "feel" the different pressures instead of just visualizing with the wafers.
• Eat the candy or cookie wafers.
• In Denver, the Earth's atmosphere has a force of about 12 pounds per square inch (psi). For reference, a gallon of milk or water weighs about 8 pounds. Show the students what a 1 inch by 1 inch square looks like. Now show the students what a 2 x 2-inch square looks like, and ask them how many pounds would be pressing down on that square. (Answer: 48) See the Amount of Air Pressure on a Square - Worksheet 2 , for a comparison of pressures at the altitudes of Boston, MA, and Denver, CO.
• Ask: How many pounds would be pressing on a 3 x 3-inch square? (Answer: 108) A 4 x 4-inch? (Answer: 192) Direct the students to complete the  Air Pressure Chart - Worksheet 3 .
• Ask: Do you see a pattern? What happens every time the square increases by one in 2 ? (Answer: The pounds of force increases by 12.)
• The average pressure on a middle school student is 24,000 pounds! Ask: Do you feel that pressure? Why don't you feel that pressure? (See if students can explain. Answer: Humans are permeable to air. Air exists inside the body, too—from breathing, through the skin, ears, etc.—and that air balances out the pressure on the outside of the body.)
• Fill the bucket with ice water.
• Fill the soda can with approximately 1 cm of water.
• Place the soda can on the hot plate until the water boils. Be alert to not let the can boil dry!
• Use the tongs to carefully remove the can from the heat and place it in an upright position on the tabletop (or trivet).
• Ask: Do you see any change in the can? (See Figure 4.) Direct students to record their observations on worksheet 1
• Repeat the heating process. This time, when you remove the can with the tongs, quickly invert it and submerge the can opening in the bucket of ice water.
• Ask: Do you see any change in the can? (See Figure 4.) Direct students to record their observations on worksheet 1.

• Direct students to draw a diagram of the experimental results. Have them indicate where the pressure must be the highest with a letter H and the lowest with a letter L. (Answer: Air pressure is lowest, L, inside the overturned can and highest, H, outside the can and around the experiment.)
• Ask: Why do you think the can was crushed? (Listen to some student explanations. Answer: Before heating, the pressure inside and outside the can is the same. We assume the pressures on both sides remain approximately the same while heating since the can does not deform. As the water boils, the air that escapes from the can is gradually replaced by water vapor until the internal atmosphere is composed almost completely of water vapor. When the can is removed from the heat, the vapor pressure drops dramatically. It decreases from 101.3 kPa at 100 ºC to about 2.3 kPa at room temperature. Therefore, as the temperature drops to room temperature, the pressure inside the can drops 97%. If the can is open to the atmosphere, air flows back into the can as the water condenses and keeps the pressure essentially constant. However, if the opening of the can is submerged, the vapor in the can cannot equilibrate with the atmosphere. In the bucket of water, the temperature in the can decreases and the water vapor condenses, creating a pressure difference of almost 99 kPa. Water is forced in to fill this partial vacuum, but before it does, air pressure on the walls implodes the can. Note that the collapsed can contains water (more than when you started), indicating water entered at the same time the walls collapsed.
• Have students work in pairs to answer the following questions:
• The air inside an aircraft is kept at a pressure similar to what human bodies experience at the Earth's surface. Knowing this, what can you say about the pressure difference between the air inside a plane versus the air outside a plane, once a plane is 30,000 ft above the Earth's surface? (Answer: The air pressure is much lower outside the plane than inside the plane.)
• Is pressure pushing from the inside of the plane outwards? Or, is pressure pushing on the outside on the plane inwards? It may help to figure this out by sketching a plane and using arrows to indicate the direction of pressure. (Answer: Pressure is pushing from the inside [high pressure] to the outside where the pressure is lower.)
• How might engineers incorporate this knowledge into their airplane designs? (Answer: Engineers design airplanes, jets, rockets and space shuttles to be strong enough so they do not explode when high in the atmosphere and in conditions in which the inside and outside air pressures are different. The material needs to be much stronger than an aluminum can!)

Pre-Activity Assessment

Discussion Questions : Solicit, summarize and integrate student responses to the following questions. After the discussion, explain that these questions will be answered during the upcoming demonstrations and activities. Ask the students:

• What is air pressure?
• How strong is atmospheric air pressure? Is it as much pressure as an ant standing on 1 square inch would exert? Or, an elephant? Or, 12 elephants?

Activity Embedded Assessment

Activity Sheets : Use the three worksheets and reference sheet to help students follow along with the activity. Review their answers to gauge their depth of comprehension.

Post-Activity Assessment

Student-Generated Questions : Ask each student to come up with one question to ask the class, based on the content of the activity. The students may require help in generating the questions. Call on a few students to ask their questions.

Safety Issues

• Make sure that students understand that they could get burned if they touch the hot plate or hot can.
• Make sure the hot plate is turned off when not in use.

In English, we use the term "weight" when we really mean mass. Mass is the amount of matter in an object. Weight is the force of gravity on a particular mass. Students may need some clarification. To add to the confusion, we also use the unit of pounds for both! However, mass is measured in pounds-mass and weight in pounds-force.

During the calculation of contact area, students may need some help estimating and rounding for partial squares. It may help to do a quick example on the classroom board or overhead projector.

You may want to start the water boiling in the aluminum can while conducting Student Activity 2: Air Pressure and Altitude—just do not forget about it and let it boil dry!

When the can is dunked in the bucket of cold water, it is crushed very quickly, so have students gather around so they can see what happens. It is highly recommended that you practice this activity in advance.

If calculating pressures exerted at sea level is too difficult, it may be easier to provide the square areas 1-12 or perform the calculations using the air pressure in Denver (12 psi).

Have students do all their measurements and calculations in metric units. Use the following conversion factors:

1 cm 2 = 0.001 m 2

1 lb = 0.454 kg

1 in 2 = 6.45 cm 2 = 0.000645 m 2

1 Pa = 1.45 x 10 -4 lb/in 2

1 kg mass weighs 9.8 N

Change the size of the grid students use to calculate the surface area of their feet. For example, use a 1 cm 2 grid, or a ½ in 2 grid.

Make a graph that shows how air pressure changes with altitude.

Relate the concepts explored in this activity to water pressure deep in the ocean.

• For grades 3 and 4, the multiplication and division may need to be modified; expect students to be able to do the multiplication with a calculator.
• For grades 1 and 2, conduct this activity as a class. Use tape and an index card to label items with the pressure that they exert, and have each student take a card. Ask students to arrange themselves (and the cards) in order of increasing pressure.

For grade 6 students:

• Rather than demonstrate the squares to the students, have them measure their own 1 x 1, 2 x 2, 3 x 3, and 4 x 4-inch square and find the pressure.
• The average surface area for an elementary school student is about 2,000 in 2 . Rather than telling students this information, have them calculate the amount of air pressure pushing down on them (24,000 lbs.).
• Have students calculate the force for other areas such as one square foot (144 in 2 ), a football field (approx. 8,000,000 in 2 ).
• Have students plot square inches vs. force on a graph.
• The average force of the atmosphere at sea level (New York City = 87 ft., San Diego = 13 ft. and Boston = 10 ft. — all close to sea level) is 15 pounds per square inch (almost 2 gallons of milk). Have students repeat their calculations for the pressure a sea level.

For grade 3 students:

• The average force of the atmosphere at sea level (New York City = 87 ft., San Diego = 13 ft. and Boston = 10 ft.—all close to sea level) is 15 pounds per square inch (almost 2 gallons of milk). Have students repeat their calculations for the pressure at sea level.
• Have students complete the Amount of Air Pressure on a Square - Worksheet 2 , and make predictions for several other squares such as 100 x 100.

For grade 2 students, simplify the psi (pounds per square inch) from 12 to 10 for easier calculations.

Students build and observe a simple aneroid barometer to learn about changes in barometric pressure and weather forecasting.

Air pressure is pushing on us all the time although we do not usually notice it. In this activity, students learn about the units of pressure and get a sense of just how much air pressure is pushing on them.

Students learn about the fundamental concepts important to fluid power, which includes both pneumatic (gas) and hydraulic (liquid) systems.

Students learn about the underlying engineering principals in the inner workings of a simple household object – the faucet. Students use the basic concepts of simple machines, force and fluid flow to describe the path of water through a simple faucet.

Cunningham, J. and Herr, N. Hands-on Physics Activities with Real-Life Application . West Nyack, NY: The Center for Applied Research in Education, p. 188-210, 1994.

Quarter-Inch Graph Paper (printable). Copyright 2000-2004. Teacher Vision, Family Education Network, Pearson Education, Inc. (source of printable graph paper) Accessed on September 17, 2020. http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6169.html

Walpole, Brenda. 175 Science Experiments to Amuse and Amaze Your Friends . Random House, p. 72, 1988.

UNESCO. 700 Science Experiments for Everyone . New York, NY: Doubleday, p. 79, 1958.

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation (GK-12 grant no. 0338326). However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education or the National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: September 17, 2020

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Can crusher experiment.

This can crusher experiment is the perfect way to demonstrate the wonders of pressure and condensation. All you need is the power of air and water to produce the amazing end result: a crushed soda can! 

What You Need:

• Empty soda can with tab removed
• Mixing bowl

Caution! Experiment involves heat and boiling water. Adult supervision required.

What You Do:

• Rinse the soda can. Then, place a couple tablespoons of water inside it—just enough to cover the bottom of the can.
• Place the can directly in a pan (use an old pan if you are worried about any damage caused by heating the can) and place on a stovetop burner. Turn the burner to medium–high heat. Allow the water in the can to heat.
• Fill the mixing bowl with about two inches of ice water.
• Once the water in the can is boiling (steam will be coming out of the can and you should be able to hear the “popping” sound of boiling water), use the tongs to remove the can from the pan and quickly (without splashing boiling water!) bring the can to the bowl of water, turn it upside down, and immerse the can in the cold water. The can should quickly be “crushed” by the cold water!
• Still holding the can with the tongs, pull the can out of the water and observe how much water pours out of the can.
• Tip: If the can doesn’t crunch on the first attempt, repeat the experiment. Consider using a different can, placing less water in the can, making sure the water in the bowl is very cold, or heating the can in pan longer.

Challenge your child to explain why the can was crushed. If she mentions pressure and/or condensation she's off to a great start! Here's what happened:

Boiling the water in the can decreases the air pressure inside, creating a partial vacuum. The water vapor produced by boiling the water pushes air out of the can, creating a lower pressure system inside of the can. Immersing the can in the cold water causes the can to implode because the pressure exerted by the water and air outside the can is greater than the pressure inside the can.

Condensation also occurs when the water vapor inside the can (a gas) quickly cools when the can is immersed in the cold water. The water vapor rapidly condenses and turns the water vapor into liquid water again. The molecules of the liquid water droplets take up less space inside the can than the molecules of the gaseous water vapor, once again causing the can to be crushed by the greater external pressure exerted by the water in the bowl and air pressure around the can.

Hopefully your child observed that more water came out of the can than was originally placed inside. The extra water was forced into the can as a result of the greater air pressure outside of the can.

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Incredible Can Crush

Activity length, 15-20 mins., states of matter, activity type, discrepant event (demonstration only).

In this demonstration, students see firsthand how matter changes states and the incredible impact of atmospheric pressure on objects.

Air is made up of matter and takes up space and has mass. If the amount of air inside an object changes, the atmospheric pressure outside of the object may have a greater impact on the object itself.

Lowering the pressure inside a pop can by heating it up creates a situation in which the pressure of the atmosphere can crush the pop can. This happens because the small amount of water that is placed inside the pop can becomes water vapour when it is heated up and displaces the air inside the can. Then, when the pop can is quickly cooled, the water vapour returns to a liquid state and since the air pressure outside of the can is greater than that on the outside, the pop can is quickly crushed. 

Describe the properties of a solid, a liquid, and a gas.

Describe the transitions between different states of matter.

Per Class or Demo: empty pop can tongs container cold water hot plate

Key Questions

• What happens to water inside the pop can when it is heated up?
• What happens to the air inside the pop can when the water becomes steam?
• Why does the pop can get crushed when it is quickly cooled?

Preparation:

• Rinse out an empty pop can for the demonstration.
• Set aside a container filled with ice-cold water.
• Add approximately 10mL (1 tablespoon) of water to the empty pop can.
• Discuss what you are going to do with your students and ask them to record predictions for each stage of the experiment

Demonstration:

• Use the hot plate to heat up the water inside the pop can.
• As the water heats up and comes to a boil, it will become visible as steam. The steam will fill up the interior of the can and displace the air inside the pop can. Any remaining air will heat up as well.
• Use the tongs to remove the can from the heat and quickly turn it over, mouth first, into the container of cold water. The pop can should become crushed because the very little remaining air quickly cools and the steam becomes liquid. Since the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure of the leftover air inside the can, the pop can is crushed.
• Turn off the hot plate and discuss what happened as a group.

Teacher tip: Practice this demonstration before trying it in front of the class.

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Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

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G430: Pressure and Temperature – The Collapsing Can

Introduction

A small amount of water is added to an aluminum soda can and brought to boiling on a hot plate or with a Bunsen burner.  The water gas molecules will occupy all the space inside the can since the air molecules have been pushed out. The hot gas molecules are the same pressure as the air outside the can. When the can is placed in cold water upside down, the hot gas water molecules are cooled very rapidly. Some of the gas molecules are condensed back into liquid water so there are less molecules of water in the gas phase inside the can. The cold water will also cool any remaining gas molecules, decreasing their kinetic energy and therefore decreases the number of collisions with the walls of the can. This decreases the pressure inside the can.  Since the air pressure outside the can is stronger than that inside the can, it causes the can to collapse.

H2O(g)   à   H2O(l)

To Conduct Demonstration

• Place the can containing water on a hot plate (turned to high) or a ring stand with a Bunsen burner underneath.
• Allow several minutes for the water to come to a full boil.
• Steam must displace the air inside the can; wait until you see a steady flow of steam exiting the spout, then immediately remove                   the can from the heat and place in the ice water bath.
• As the hot steam cools and condenses to water, a vacuum is created inside the can and atmospheric pressure will crush it.
• 250 ml water to a 5 gallon can
• 20 min to boil, 1 or 2 min to collapse.  Collapsing will take longer if the can is left     to heat longer and   it itself gets hot.
• Requires a large hotplate.

If using a large can do not continue heating the can after inserting the rubber stopper as pressure will increase. 

• G410: Gases – Boyle’s Law
• G430: Prep Notes
• G440: Evaporation and Expansion – The Drinking Bird
• G450: Effusion – Relative Effusion Rates of H2, He, and O2
• G460: Charle's Law
• G420: Graham’s Law of Diffusion – NH3 and HCl Diffusion

Crushed Can Experiment!

Introduction: Crushed Can Experiment!

Step 1: Getting Started!

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Project Weather School: Crushing Can Experiment -- How Temps Affect Air Pressure

Pressure: How Temperature Differences Affect Pressure

ORLANDO, Fla. --  Pressure means everything when it comes to forecasting weather and learning about global patterns. High pressure gives us sunny weather and low pressure gives us stormy weather. This lesson will be broken into two parts over the next two weeks. This week will focus on the relationship between temperature and pressure. Next week we will learn about how pressure controls our weather patterns. 

First, let’s start off by defining air pressure. It is the weight (force) of the Earth’s atmosphere pressing down on any object on the Earth’s surface. There are many units to describe air pressure. The two most common metric units meteorologist use are “Inches of Mercury (Hg)” or “millibars (mb).” You may hear meteorologist refer to these units when describing the strength of a hurricane. There is a cool tool used to measure air pressure and it is called a barometer. 

BELOW: Take Nick's Weather Quiz!

Here’s a fun fact! The average atmospheric pressure is 1013.25 mb or 29.92”Hg. What does this mean? It translates down to 14.7 lbs per square inch! Think about that. Take out your pencil and let’s do some quick math. Let’s calculate the approximate weight of the atmosphere over a standard piece of paper with the dimensions of 8.5” x 11”?  

Find the area of the piece of paper which equals 93.5 square inches. Multiply that value by 14.7 lbs per square inch and you get a weight of 1,374 pounds of air over that sheet of paper. Now that is a lot of weight!

Did you know more than 2,000 pounds of air is resting on our heads every day? So why aren’t we crushed by it? Thank goodness for a strong vertebrae! Our bodies exert pressure too and these forces are balanced. Equilibrium is a great thing! 

Now that you understand the standard pressure of our atmosphere and what it means, let’s talk about how this influences weather. We know that pressure varies greatly around our planet and the pressure difference generates wind and storms. 

Why do we have a change in pressure around the planet? This has to do with temperature and the heating of the planet from the sun. The tilt of our planet causes the globe to heat up at different rates. Some areas like the equator are warmer than others, especially the poles. Cold air is more dense, therefore it has a higher pressure. Warm air is less dense and has a lower pressure associated with it. 

As the sun heats the ground, the air near the ground warms. Remember, heat is less dense than cold air so the warm air will rise. This rising motion creates a natural vacuum lowering the air pressure at the Earth’s surface. 

Think of a hot air balloon. When you heat the air inside the balloon, it causes the balloon to rise because the heated air is less dense than the colder air around it. 

Cold air on the other hand can create large areas of high pressure because cold air is more dense and hovers near the ground. Think back to last week’s lesson when we demonstrated how cold fronts work. The sinking air can create areas of high pressure at the Earth’s surface. 

When high pressure is in control, the air sinks. Sinking air compresses the atmosphere and inhibits clouds to form. Sinking air also pushes down toward the ground so the weight above you is greater than on a standard day. 

The opposite is true with a low pressure system. With low pressure, air rises, cools, and condenses into storm clouds, which may lead to a rainy day. Since the rising column of air weighs less, the air pressure is lower. Think back to our water cycle lesson. Water vapor rises, cools, condenses into a cloud, and later produces rain. 

Let’s demonstrate how temperature pressure relate to one another in this crushing experiment. 

Experiment: A collapsing can

Purpose: To demonstrate how pressure changes with temperature

What you need:

- ADULT SUPERVISION

- Empty soda can 

- Stove top of burner

- Large metal or glass bowl filled with ice water

- Kitchen Tongs

- Goggles, gloves, and apron (protective gear)

Procedure: 

1. Fill the empty metal or glass bowl with ice water

2. Turn the stove top to a medium heat

3. Fill the empty soda can with 2 inches of water

4. Place the soda can on the stove top

5. Let the water boil. This is when you will see steam escaping the top of the can

6. With an adult, turn the stove off and use the tongs to take the hot soda can and swiftly flip it over into the bowl filled with ice cold water. 

7. Observe your findings

Results: The can crushed immediately after placing it in the bowl of ice cold water. 

Conclusion: The heating of the can turned some of the water into water vapor. The warm water vapor was less dense than the surrounding environment causing it to rise out of the can. It was visible as steam. Heating the can causes the water particles to expand and therefore the total volume of water inside the can decreased as much of it was lost due to the water vapor escaping through the top. 

When the can was flipped into a pool of ice cold water, the can collapsed on itself. The water vapor that was left inside the can quickly cooled and condensed into water droplets, creating a vacuum. Suddenly the pressure outside the can is greater than inside the can, causing it to collapse on itself!

Next week, we will learn how pressure differences causes the wind to blow. 

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Air Pressure to crush a can experiment

Subject: Compounds and mixtures

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

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