Does Air Have Weight?

Does Air Weigh?

On Tuesday the 29th of October, my class did a science experiment on if air weighs.

Equipment

* 1-Volunteer

* 4-Newspaper’s (2 will be used, 2 for spares encase one rips)

* Table

* 1-Ruler (maybe 2 or 3).

Have a great time trying the experiment :-).

Predict

I predicted air doesn’t weigh. Because it’s just air. It’s wind it’s thin and weighs nothing.

Method (Observe)

1. First you need a volunteer who does a good karate chop, get the ruler and put it on the table, half of it on the table and half of it sticking of. make the volunteer chop the part of the ruler that’s sticking of the table.

Question

What will happen to the ruler?

Predict

It will launch up into the air and fall.

Method (Observe)

The ruler should go up into the air and fall.

2. Next, get a Newspaper’s and crumple it up, put the ruler back on the table in the same position. Then put the crumpled up paper on the side of the ruler that’s on the table. Get the volunteer to karate chop the part of the ruler that’s sticking of the table.

Question

What will happen now with the newspaper on the ruler?

Predict

The crumpled up newspaper will go flying, like a catapult.

Method (observe)

The newspaper sorta works like a catapult, only it shot forward a little and then fell.

3. Finally get a newspaper with no rips, flatten it on the ruler (the ruler should be in the same position it was before), take all the air out of the newspaper (by fully flattening it on the ruler part that’s on the table). Than karate chop the part of the ruler that’s sticking out.

Question

Do you think it will brake?

Predict

No. It didn’t break before, It won’t break now, plus how is it going to break when the newspaper is just flat.

Method (observe)

It got chopped but didn’t break (I was right... Or was I?). Mr. Moriarty told Ollie to try again and this time it snapped! It snapped because the newspaper on the ruler had been flattened out completely so the air pushed it down (I thought it was just gravity... I was told I was wrong?). I did start to believe it.

So this is the answer: Air does have weight.

I hope you enjoyed reading, you should try this (if it doesn’t work the newspaper is probably just not flat enough).

The newspaper was flat, the air pushed down
on it causing the ruler to snap

I hope you enjoyed reading this and please leave a comment :-).

The newspaper's flat, it might just break
once again