Hot air Balloons

Here is a hands-on activity in which junior scientists put air into a balloon to create a closed system. They measure its circumference, warm it in hot water, and then remeasure its circumference to discover how temperature affects the...

Balloons will go where you want them to. Young pilots first add paper clips to a balloon to make it neutrally buoyant. They then use cardboard to steer the balloon in different directions, taking air pressure into account.

Have your class explore how a hot air balloon works. Through a simple demonstration, learners can see the process up close, and discuss why this occurs. They can then perform related experiments on their own.

Have your class explore how a hot air balloon works. Through a simple demonstration, learners can see the process up close, and discuss why this occurs. They can then perform related experiments on their own.

From balloons to satellites, air travel has come a long way over the years. A video presentation discusses the origin of space travel beginning with hot air balloons and gliders to the modern-day space race. Content includes discussion...

It is more than just blowing hot air. Pupils first build a hot air balloon out of tissue paper by cutting enough panels of tissue paper to form a balloon shape and glue the panels together. Using a hot air gun, individuals then inflate...

How can people control a hot air balloon? The simple simulation allows scholars to adjust the payload mass, burner, and vent position on a hot air balloon and observe the changes in velocity and altitude over time. Challenge questions...

Students conduct an experiment to discover what happens to air when it is heated or cooled, discover that wind moves from a high-pressure area (an area of sinking air) to a low pressure area (an area of rising air).

Love is in the air? Wrong — nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are in the air. The final lesson in the series of five covers the impact of temperature on gases. Scholars view a demonstration of gas as a type of matter before performing...

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members make their own hovercraft and demonstrate how the air leaking out of a balloon can make a plastic plate hover above a table. Experiment instructions are also available in a PDF...