properties of air science experiments

20 Best Air Pressure Science Experiments / Science Fair Ideas

• November 3, 2022
• Science Experiments

We have put together a list of Air Pressure Science Experiments that is perfect for kids to try at home or to demonstrate their knowledge in a science fair .

These Air Pressure Science Experiments are a sure shot way of fun learning, experimenting, and exploring the fascinating forces of air pressure. These experiments can be conducted anywhere at home, playgrounds or outdoors .

Air Pressure Science Experiments

Before we step into our amazing experiments , let us learn a little about Air Pressure and its properties in words.

Air Pressure is the pressure created on the air molecules exerted by the air pressing down to the earth.

Generally, the air pressure is determined by three factors: Temperature , Moisture , and Altitude. Commonly air pressure is measured using a mercury barometer .

Here are the science activities or experiments to demonstrate Air Pressure to children.

1. Drinks Dispenser Science Activity

We usually observe that Kids are curious about dispensing liquids out of the bottles while adults do the same at parties or in the home. Why don’t we let them prepare their own drinks dispenser! Check out whether our experiment helps our kids in making drinks dispensers in no time and with fewer materials.

Click Drinks Dispenser Science Activity to get all the details before you start investigating.

2. Hot Air Cold Air Science Activity

Performing this science activity is a perfect opportunity for the kids to understand the concept of cold and hot air. In addition, they will get the chance to talk about what is actually happening with the water and air together and to explore the reason or science behind it.

Click on Hot Air Cold Air Science Activity

3. Egg in the bottle Air Pressure Science Experiment

An interesting and entertaining science activity with eggs to understand the differences in air pressure!! Kids, get ready to perform this activity and amaze your friends and family.

For more details about the cool science experiment on air pressure: Browse Egg in the Bottle Air Pressure Science Experiment

4. Oxygen and Air Pressure Experiment

We cannot see the air but we always feel the pressure of the air around us on everything!! Great experiment with a better explanation, demonstration, and appropriate result. It works effectively to start homeschooling with your kids as the little magical trick explains clearly how air pressure works with oxygen.

It is better to browse the experiment once before you start the experiment: Click on Oxygen and Air Pressure Experiment

5. Newton’s Law of Motion Air Pressure Experiment

This is a fun science experiment for preschoolers and kindergartens to explore Air science in a wonderful way!! Kids can perform this cool activity on their own and be amazed to see the magical results of the experiment.

Grab the materials here and get ready to explore air pressure: Newton’s Law of Motion Air Pressure Experiment

6. Balloon in a Bottle : Air Pressure Experiment

This is a simple experiment that shows how Air Pressure works.

Objective: Kids learn how air and air pressure are able to expand a balloon and can have a great demonstration of air pressure.

For more details about the balloon in a bottle: air pressure Browse Balloon in a Bottle: Air Pressure Experiment

7. Balloon and Pin Experiment

Here is an interesting experiment that shows you can make an un-poppable balloon.

A sharp object is a bad friend to an inflated balloon because it lets the balloon pop upon contact! But a pack of the same sharp object becomes a great friend to the same balloon.

Are you interested in learning about what the magical science around balloons and pins? Let’s dive into the Balloon and Pin Experiment (Air Pressure Experiment for Kids)

8. How to Put a Skewer Through a Balloon: Science Fair Project

Do you think an inflated balloon pops out when you insert a skewer into it, as always? Of course, Yes!

But there is a simple trick to insert a sharp-ended skewer into the balloon without blasting it. Let’s learn about this Non-popping balloon experiment.

Though it appears easy, you may not succeed in one or two attempts.

Let’s try this interesting experiment How to Put a Skewer Through a Balloon

9. Crushing Can Experiment: Effect of Atmospheric Pressure

You may be used to crushing cans using foot or hand. Have you crushed it using an implosion? Today we are going to explore the effect of Atmospheric Pressure with the ‘Crushing Can Experiment’.

Let’s work on this interesting experiment Crushing Can Experiment: Effect of Atmospheric Pressure

10. Drip Drop Bottle-Water Bottle Pressure Experiment

Are you aware of the magic water bottles? We are going to perform a very simple ‘Drip Drop Water Bottle Pressure Experiment’, which helps us to make the ‘Magic Water Bottle’.

Let’s check it out by clicking Drip Drop Bottle-Water Bottle Pressure Experiment

11. How to Build a Fast Balloon Powered Car

This one is an awesome engineering project, ‘Build a Balloon Powered Car’. In this project, we are going to learn about Newton’s Third Law and how it is applied to design propulsion vehicles such as cars or rockets, etc.

Let’s try this by clicking How to Build a Fast Balloon Powered Car

12. How To Make a Balloon Hovercraft

Hovercrafts might be old-fashioned means of transport, but they offer a ton of fun and education to children as a science fair project.

Today, we will learn about creating a ‘homemade version of hovercraft’ using just an old CD and a balloon.

Trying this by visiting How To Make a Balloon Hovercraft

13. Air Pressure Hands-on Experiments for Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers

It is a little tricky to explain the concept of air pressure to the kids who are preschoolers and homeschoolers!!

Click the link below to find the two experiments back to back demonstrating air pressure in a simple and neat way.

To know the instructions and materials required to perform these experiments: Click here, Air Pressure Hands-on Experiments for Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers

14. How does a paper towel stay dry Science Experiment?

Extremely easy activity to perform by your young kids. If you are a teacher or a parent, this simple science activity is perfect to introduce air pressure to the younger children in an entertaining way.

Get the details of the simple and fun activity that demonstrates air pressure here: How does a paper towel stay dry Science Experiment?

15. Air Pressure Experiment – Bernoulli Principle

A perfect experiment to understand Bernoulli Principle in an easy and neat way. Just an empty squash bottle is enough to investigate this experiment in simple steps. Wondered!? Browse the experiment to make your children WOW by the magical results it gives.

Find the full experiment details here: Air Pressure Experiment – Bernoulli Principle

16. Floating Plate Experiment using Atmospheric Pressure

This floating plate experiment is specially designed for parents and teachers to explain atmospheric pressure to the kids in a clear way. This experiment provides you with crystal clear explanations of the basics along with some fun activities.

Let us try this experiment without any hassles: Click here, Floating Plate Experiment using Atmospheric Pressure

17. Smaller Balloon Stronger Balloon Experiment

With this experiment, we are going to explore science and maths together in a brilliant way using simple ingredients available at home. Ask your children to connect two different-sized balloons and predict which way the air flows and why! Analyze their conclusions and teach them the appropriate science behind the experiment.

If you also find it interesting, then click here to know more details on how to perform the experiment: Smaller Balloon Stronger Balloon Experiment

18. Air Pressure Experiment using Straws and Tennis Ball

This is a fun and classic experiment to demonstrate air pressure to the children in an easy way!! Ball in the air keeps children engaged and entertained while learning Air Pressure Science.

Have a look at the experiment here: Air Pressure Experiment using Straws and Tennis Ball

19. Coin Poppers Science Experiment

Easy science experiment to demonstrate air pressure using coins! For young kids, this experiment is like a play while experimenting with coins. But can you use any type of coin!? How do coins demonstrate air pressure? Get the answers to all your questions from the experiment disclosed in detail here: Coin Poppers Science Experiment

20. Exploring Air and Air Pressure Science Experiment

A remarkable experiment to investigate the relation between air and air pressure. Best demonstration experiment for teachers to show children on after school classes about air pressure. Kids will get to know about the air and its properties in a simple way!!

Get the complete details here: Exploring Air and Air Pressure Science Experiment

Hope you have got a handful of the best and classic science experiments that clearly demonstrates Air Pressure. All the experiments are safe, easy-to-perform, easy-to-clean, and learning activities with simple steps and materials available in the home.

Kids also will get to analyze the air properties and how it works on different objects around us in real life. Grab it and experiment hassle-free! Happy Experiments!!

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FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• Air - Is It Really There?

Hands-on Activity Air - Is It Really There?

Grade Level: 6 (4-6)

Time Required: 1 hour

Expendable Cost/Group: US $5.00

Group Size: 1

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Chemistry

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
• Environmental History Timeline
• Air Pressure Experiments: I Can't Take the Pressure!
• 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 scaling, user comments & tips.

Engineers must understand the physical properties of air so they can determine the best way to remove pollutants from contaminated air. They study how quickly air moves and how much pressure it exerts. This knowledge helps them design filtration systems that efficiently move air through a system, while at the same time ensuring that pollutants are removed before the air is released into the atmosphere.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Understand and explain that air takes up space has mass, can move, exerts pressure, and can do work.
• Give examples that demonstrate an understanding of the properties of air.
• Explain why it is important for engineers to understand the properties of air.

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.

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

View aligned curriculum

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

State Standards

Colorado - science.

Each student needs a copy of the Air - Is It Really There? Worksheet

Demo 1 – Air Takes Up Space

• Part A: 1 paper lunch bag
• Part B: 1 balloon, and 1 empty one-liter plastic pop or juice bottle (it must have a narrow neck; remove the label)

Demo 2 – Air Has Mass

• 2 identical balloons
• 1 meter stick
• 1 straight pin

Demo 3 – Air Can Move (We Can Feel It)

• 1 electric fan (table or floor size)

Demo 4 – Air Exerts Pressure (It Pushes on Things)

• Part A - Student Activity: 1 sheet of 8.5" x 11" paper per student
• Part B - Student Activity: Each student needs 1 straw and 1 small cup containing water
• Part C: 1 medium sized jar with an opening smaller than an index card, 1 index card or piece of light-weight cardboard, 1 large bowl/dish in case of spills, paper towels or rags in case of spills
• Part D: 1 small juice glass, 1 tissue and 1 medium bowl filled with water

Demo 5 – Air Does Work

• 1 medium-sized plastic bag
• A stack of textbooks

Most of the time, we hardly notice the air around us. We cannot usually see it or taste it. Air does not usually smell (but it does carry substances that we do smell). However, you can feel air when it moves and you can see the effects of air on your surroundings. When air moves, it has great power (to push sailboats, drive windmills and move clouds), and when it is compressed (squashed into a small space), it has great strength (air in a tire supports a vehicle and helps a helicopter to rise into the air).

We must have air to survive. Because of this, engineers work to solve our air pollution problems. There are many things that complicate these solutions, so engineers who work on air pollution problems must have a firm understanding of the composition, properties and behavior of air.

This activity focuses on the physical properties of air: Air takes up space, has mass, can move, exerts pressure and can do work. Engineers need to know the physical properties of air so they can determine the best way to remove pollutants from it. These properties are important to consider when designing a system or process to remove pollutants from the air. Many car exhaust systems, power plant emissions stacks and building systems utilize high-tech filter devices designed to remove pollutants from the air. Some systems that require air to move through pipes can treat only limited volumes of air at a time. Engineers study how quickly air moves and how much pressure it exerts so they can design filtration systems that are strong enough to efficiently move air through the system while still ensuring pollutants are removed before the air is released into the atmosphere.

Before the Activity

The demonstrations go more smoothly if you practice them in advance.

• If you have all the supplies organized and ready, it is possible to do all of these demos in one class period.
• Hand out the Air - Is It Really There? Worksheet for students to use to record their observations along with the demos.

With the Students

Part A — Hold up a paper bag and ask the students if there is anything in it. Have the students open the lunch bag and look inside.

Next, blow into the bag and hold the top tight with your hand (see Figure 1).

Question: Ask the students, What is in the bag now? (Answer: Air)

Part B — Push a deflated balloon into a bottle and stretch the open end of the balloon back over the bottle's mouth (see Figure 2).

Question: Have the students guess what will happen to the balloon if you were to try to inflate it inside the bottle. Will the balloon break the bottle, pop or do nothing?

Try to blow up the balloon!

After the experiment, discuss why the balloon did nothing. (Answer: Because air takes up space, the bottle was full of air. When you try to blow up the balloon, the air trapped inside the bottle prevents the balloon from inflating.)

Make the point that even though air is invisible, it still takes up space . Also, discus how engineers need to know how much space air takes up so they can design filtration systems that are large enough to treat the polluted air created by cars, power plants and factories.

Hold up two inflated balloons of the same size attached to opposite ends of a meter stick. Ask the students if there is anything in them. (Answer: Air)

Balance the meter stick such that it is perfectly horizontal, showing that both sides have equal mass (see Figure 3). This may not be perfectly accurate, but it is close enough for the demonstration. Ask students to describe why it balances like this.

Question: Ask students what will happen if you pop one of the balloons. (Answer: They should predict that the end with the inflated balloon still attached will "go down" and the end with the deflated balloon will rise. They can usually relate this to the action of a playground see-saw.)

Pop one of the balloons with the pin.

Question: Ask students to describe what happened and why. (Answer: The side of the stick with the popped balloon rises, because the mass of air in that balloon was released, making that side of the stick lighter.)

Make the point that that even though air is invisible, it still has mass . Why is this important for engineers to study? (Answer: Engineers need to make sure the filtration systems they design are made from materials strong enough to hold the air that is being treated and not break under the weight of the polluted air.)

Alternatively, use a triple-beam or electronic balance, to measure the mass of the balloon before and after it is inflated. What is the mass of the air inside?

Talk about air. Can the students see air? How do they know it is there? (Answer: We can feel it moving, for example, the wind.)

Direct an electric fan towards the students and turn it on (see Figure 4).

Ask the students what they felt when they were in front of the fan.

After their responses, explain that what they were feeling was air moving very fast. Explain how the fan makes air move very fast.

Make the point that even though air is invisible, it still can move.

Question: Ask the students to give other examples of when air is moving very fast. Why is it important for engineers to study moving air? (Answer: Engineers need to know how to move air through the filtration systems. A very good filtration system is useless if you cannot get the polluted air to go through it.)

Part A — Take the students to a place where there is plenty of room to run. If it is a nice day, the activity can be done outside on a playground or in a field. If not, use a gymnasium. At the activity area, pick a few volunteer students. Hand each a piece of 8.5" x 11" paper.

Ask the rest of the class what they think will happen to a piece of paper if the volunteer puts it against their stomach while walking forward without holding the paper in place.

Instruct one of the volunteer students to hold a piece of paper against their stomach. Have the student let go of the paper when they begin to walk forward (see Figure 5). (The paper should fall to the ground.)

Question: Ask the class if they have any ideas why the paper did not stay against the student's body.

Question: Ask the students what they think will happen to the piece of paper if they put it against their stomach and run in a straight line without holding the paper in place.

Select a second volunteer. Have the student place the paper against their stomach and hold it with their hand.

Tell the student to begin running in a straight line and let go of the paper when they begin running (see Figure 5). (The paper should stay in place.)

Question: Ask the class if they know why the paper stayed in place when the student ran. What caused the paper to stay in place?

Have the rest of the students who want to try it, do so.

Afterwards, explain that the force holding the paper in place when the student ran was air. Make the point that even though air is invisible, it exerts pressure . When you run, the air pushes against you, working to hold the piece of paper against your body. While walking, the paper did not stay in place because the air was not pushing very hard against your body.

Part B — Pass out straws to the students, along with small cups of water.

Allow the students to experiment with the straws by covering the tops with their fingers while withdrawing them from the water. They should note that the water does not fall out of the straws unless they remove their fingers.

Explain to the students that the water does not fall out when the top of the straw is sealed because the pressure of the air outside the straw pushes against the water through the open end of the straw. (If the water were to fall out of a covered straw, a vacuum would be created in the region vacated by the water. Since the vacuum has no pressure while the atmosphere does, the pressure differential keeps the water in the straw against the force of gravity.)

Part C — Question: Ask the students if they think the same result (as Demo 4B) would occur if instead of a straw, they used a container with a larger diameter.

Fill a jar completely with water. Cover the mouth of the jar with an index card. Be sure to get the rim of the jar slightly wet. The best way to do this is to have a slight excess of water on top before you put the card on.

Keeping one finger on the cover, invert the container. Carefully remove your finger. Slowly rotate the jar through a complete circle so the mouth faces up and then down again (see Figure 6). The card should stay on the jar regardless of orientation, showing that air pressure is exerted on the card from the top, bottom and sides.

Part D — Crumple a tissue and push it down into the bottom of a glass so that it does not fall out when you invert the glass.

Turn the glass upside down and place it under the water in a bowl (see Figure 7). Do not tilt the glass. You should find that the water does not enter the glass and that the tissue stays dry.

Question: Ask students to suggest ideas for why the tissue does not get wet. (Answer: Water cannot get into the glass [provided you do not tip it] because the glass is full of air.)

Question: Why is this important to engineers? (Answer: Engineers need to determine how much pressure air exerts so they can design filtration systems that are large enough for all the air to flow through without exerting so much pressure that it breaks the system. Just like when you were running, the air pushed a piece of paper up against you. This same type of pressure is felt by all of the parts of the filtration system as the air moves quickly by. Therefore all of the pieces of the system must be strong enough to not break under this pressure.)

Question: Ask students if they can suggest a way to lift a pile of books using only their breath.

Question: If the air is strong enough to push a piece of paper and hold water in a straw or jar, is it strong enough to move and hold books?

Place a plastic bag under the textbooks such that the open end is sticking out slightly. Carefully blow air into the bag, being sure to close the end each time you put in a new breath. The air in the bag should lift the books (see Figure 8).

Question: Ask the students to describe is happening. (Answer: The air in the bag lifts the books.)

Make the point that even though air is invisible, it still can do work.

Question: Ask the students to brainstorm other examples of when air does work. (for example, supporting airplanes, floating hot air balloons, moving windmills, inflating tires that support cars and bicycles, etc.).

At the end, instruct the students to complete the Air – Is It Really There? Worksheet.

Pre-Activity Assessment

Discussion Question : Ask a discussion question to get students to think about the upcoming activity concepts. Record their answers on the board.

• What are the properties of air? How would you describe air? (Tell them that they will learn more about the properties of air in this activity.)

Activity Embedded Assessment

Question/Answer : During the course of the activity demos, have students answer a series of questions. These are labeled "Question:" throughout the Procedure section.

Worksheet : During the course of the activity demos, have the students record their observations of the demos on their copy of the Air - Is It Really There? Worksheet .

Post-Activity Assessment

Writing : Have the students write a summary about the properties of air demonstrated in this activity. They should include at least one example (either from the activity or discussion) of each of the properties discussed (air takes up space, has mass, moves, exerts pressure, does work). They should also explain why it is important for engineers to study the physical properties of air.

Safety Issues

• Make sure students remain seated during all demonstrations. Many of the demos use glass so extra care is required to ensure it does not accidentally get broken by wandering hands.

Be prepared with paper towels or rags for clean up.

• Younger students enjoy these demonstrations. Ask them to draw pictures to show each of the properties of air (air takes up space, has mass, moves, exerts pressure, does work).

Students are introduced to the concepts of air pollution, air quality, and climate change. The three lesson parts (including the associated activities) focus on the prerequisites for understanding air pollution. First, students use M&M® candies to create pie graphs that express their understanding o...

Students are introduced to the concepts of air pollution and technologies that engineers have developed to reduce air pollution. They develop an understanding of visible air pollutants with an incomplete combustion demonstration, a "smog in a jar" demonstration, construction of simple particulate ma...

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

Environmental Science Lesson Plans. Last updated May 15, 2006. Lesson Plans for Teachers, TCEQ, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Accessed September 18, 2006. Formerly available from http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assistance/education/k-12education/lessonplans.html

EPA NE: Indoor Air Quality – Tools for Schools. April 16, 2004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed October 13, 2004. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/states/nebraska.html

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

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

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

Last modified: November 12, 2020

• Activities for Kids
• Family Life

Under Pressure! 10 At-Home Science Experiments That Harness Air

If the at-home orders have you scrambling for indoor activities , we’ve got easy science experiments you can pull out at a moment’s notice from the comfort of your home. Each kids science experiment reveals air’s invisible power, and (usually) uses what you’ve got in the recycling bin to demonstrate it. Read on to learn how to levitate water, submerge tissues without getting them wet and suck an egg into a jug using only a match.

Keep it Simple

Thankfully, science experiments don't have to be super complex or time consuming. These easy-peasy experiments only require a little prep and leave a big impression on tiny minds. Plus, we’re betting most of what you need to test these theories is already lying around your house.

1. Sink or Swim. Instead of bobbing for apples, your tiny tot will make straws dive and surface with a gentle squeeze. The Kids Activities Blog  lays out the important deets for this hands-on experiment that uses a two-liter bottle and play dough to fully certify straws as scuba-ready. Take the dive into serious science with this one!

Why it works: Squeezing the bottle increases the air pressure inside the bottle and forces water up into the straw, which makes it heavy enough to sink.

2. Blow Their Minds . Bet your cutie a clean room that she can’t blow a rolled up piece of paper towel into an empty bottle. Sounds like a safe bet, right? But thanks to air pressure, the cards are definitely stacked in your favor. To set up the experiment, place an empty two-liter bottle on its side. Ball up the corner of a paper towel that’s about half the size of the bottle’s top and place it just inside the opening then challenge your little scientist to blow the paper towel into the bottle (Trust us, it can’t be done). No matter how hard she tries, she’s not going to win that bet. Learning plus a clean room? We’ll take it!

Why it works: Even though you can’t see it, that bottle is full of air; when you try to blow something into it, there’s just no room.

3. Be Unpredictable. Two balloons, a yardstick, string, and a hairdryer are all you need for this experiment that will keep your mini me guessing. To get things moving in the right direction, blow up the balloons to the same size and then use the string to attach them, a few inches apart, to the yardstick. Once you’re all set up, ask your kidlet what will happen to the balloons when you aim air from the hair dryer between the two balloons. The obvious answer? They’ll be blown apart. But once your wee one takes aim, she’ll see that the balloons are actually pushed together rather than apart. Who knew?

Why it works: Blowing air between the balloons lowers the air pressure and makes the pressure surrounding them higher, pushing them together.

4. Levitate Water . You won’t need to incant Wingardium Leviosa with perfect pronunciation to suspend water during this exciting experiment. Start by filling a glass of water about 1/3 full, then cover it with a piece of cardstock. Tip the glass over, keeping the cardstock in place with your hand, and hold the whole shebang over your unsuspecting kidlet’s head (or a sink if you want to do a test run first!). Then slowly let go of the cardstock while your mini me waits excitedly below. Look ma, no splash! The card stays in place and your little guinea pig stays dry.

Why it works : The outside air pressure working against the cardstock is greater than the weight of the water in the glass.

5. Grab a Tissue. To be wet or not to be wet is the question answered in this simple experiment full of drama. To set the scene, loosely crumple a tissue so that when you stick it in a small glass and turn it over the tissue doesn’t fall out. Then, have your little lab assistant fill a bowl with water, turn the glass over and submerge it completely (psst… keep the glass parallel to the water to make the experiment work). Ta da! The tissue stays dry even when it’s below the water line.

Why it works: The air pressure inside the glass is strong enough to keep the water out and the tissue dry.

Complicate Matters

Get mom or dad in on the action with these experiments that take a little more time and some helping hands to demonstrate just how powerful air pressure can be.

6. Blast Off. Nothing makes air pressure more tangible than a classic bottle rocket  launched on a sunny summer afternoon. You and your sidekick can spend time fashioning a plastic bottle into a space-worthy vessel with a cone top and flamboyant fins on the side. Then, hook it up to the air pump and let her rip! Up, up and away! Science Sparks has simple instructions you can use (and even a cool video!) to make one with your budding scientist.

Why it works: Pumping air into the bottle builds up pressure until you just can’t add any more and all that force sends the rocket flying.

7. Make Eggs Magical. This “look ma, no hands, wires or mirrors” trick will get them every time; an egg being sucked into a jar while your little scientist delightedly looks on is always a hit. To perform this illusory feat, you’ll need a glass jar with an opening just smaller than an egg (think: old school milk jug) and a peeled, boiled egg. When you and your Little have checked these items off your list, it’s time to start the show. Mom or dad should toss a lit match into the glass jar, followed by your mini lab assistant, who’ll quickly set the egg over the opening. Abracadabra! Alakazam! The match dies out; the egg gets (seemingly) inexplicably sucked into the bottle. And just like that you’ve performed another bit of parent magic without breaking a sweat.

Why it works: The match uses up the air inside the bottle. Once that happens the pressure outside the bottle is greater and pushes the egg down into the bottle.

8. Build a Barometer. The invisible air pressure around us is always changing, but try explaining that to the tot lot. We've found a seeing-is-believing DIY barometer experiment to turn the tides for your tiny skeptic. Not only will you reveal ever-changing air pressure, but you can also predict any summer storms heading your way. Get all you need to know about making your own version using a screw-top jar, rubber bands and a straw at Wonderful Engineering .

Why it works: When the air pressure is high, it pushes down on the straw tilting it up, and when it’s low, pressure inside the jar pushes up against the straw pointing it down.

9. Inflate Marshmallows. Put those marshmallows you’re stockpiling for summer s’mores to good use in this DIY vacuum experiment. To make the vacuum, use a hammer and nail to pierce a hole (big enough to fit a straw) into the lid of a screw-top glass jar. Next, stick a straw ever-so-slightly into the hole and seal the edges with play dough or molding clay so there’s no way for the air to get out other than through that straw. Now you’re ready to see what happens to a marshmallow when it’s trapped inside; place the marshmallow in the jar, screw the top back on, and have your mini me take the air out gulp by gulp through the straw (just be sure to cover the straw hole between breaths so no air makes it back in). As the air is removed, the marshmallow expands, like a nightmare vision straight out of Ghostbusters . Who you gonna call?

Why it works : When you use a straw to remove all the air from the jar, there’s no air left working against the marshmallow. Instead, the air trapped inside the marshmallow is able to expand.

10. Pit Balloons Against Bottles. Is your future scientist ready for another challenge? Just like blowing a paper towel into a jug, this science experiment from Steve Spangler Science  is oh-so-much harder than it looks. To entice your little experimenter, place an un-inflated balloon into an empty plastic bottle and ask him if he thinks he can blow it up. Easy right? But no matter how hard he tries, that balloon just won’t fill with air! The trick to inflating the balloon  is a simple one that takes mom or dad’s helping hand and just like that, what was once impossible becomes possible!

Why it works: At first, the bottle is full of air so there’s no room for the balloon to expand when you try to blow it up. But when you try this experiment after the trick, there’s an escape route for the air inside the bottle, leaving room for the balloon to inflate.

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10 Simple Experiments for Density and Buoyancy and Air Pressure

Updated: Jun 24, 2020

Develop an understanding of air pressure, buoyancy, and density using a series of hands-on labs.

When I’m teaching a science concepts like air pressure and density my goal is to help kids build mental models of what’s going on. Whenever possible I try to start with something they can touch and feel and experience. Here’s a simple sequence we did in my classroom. I hope you can see how students’ understanding builds.

1. Air is Stuff: Air Pressure Experiment with Water

This activity is a good place to start. When you try to pour water into the jug, it won’t go in. This is a concrete way to show that air is stuff. This always surprises and puzzles kids and encourages them to play. And when they’re intrigued, kids engage with difficult material more easily.

This is where we begin our study of buoyancy. Can you see where this will lead?

If you don’t get the idea that air is stuff, you won’t believe that it has weight. And if you don’t believe that air has weight, you won’t see how it can produce pressure. And if you don’t understand how air produces pressure, you won’t be able to see how it creates buoyancy. And if you don’t understand how buoyancy works, then it’s tough to grasp the concept of density. Sure, you can memorize the formula for density, but what does that tell you about density? BTW what IS the formula for density? And will it be on the test?

2. Matter Presses: Understanding Pressure

Once we proved to ourselves that air is stuff, we’ll play with the concepts of weight and pressure. This activity is free on my website. If you’re interested in a copy, you can sign up here.

This is a super simple activity to show kids how the weight of an object (our body) doesn’t change as you change your position (squatting, sitting, standing on tiptoe), yet its pressure does. It’s a concrete way for kids to feel the connection between the concepts of weight and pressure.

We’re just getting started on our investigation into density, buoyancy, and air pressure. These three concepts are related, and it’s helpful to study them together. In this activity, kids see how pressure comes from weight. We’ll continue that line of thought in the next couple of activities.

3. Streamlines: Water Pressure Experiments with a Water Bottle

Have you tried this experiment? It’s easy, a little messy, and super fun. Plus, kids find it intriguing, so that’s a huge point in its favor. 

How many observations can you make? Note how the lower streams are shooting farther than the upper ones. What could you conclude from that?

Click here (or on a pic) for middle school labs on this topic.

This is a visual example showing how pressure comes from weight. The greater push comes from the taller column of water. Kids can prove this to themselves by comparing bottles of different diameters and heights. It’s easy to conclude that it’s only the height of the water that changes the shape of the squirt.

This activity gives good evidence that the water sitting above the hole produces the pressure. This is a direct correlation to air pressure, which comes from the weight of Earth’s air sitting on top of you. 

The difficulty with understanding air pressure is that we ignore the surrounding air. We rarely think of air as sitting on us. It’s invisible so we forget it’s there.  Time to roll the tape from activity #1 . Air is stuff. It’s always there and we need to remember this to understand air pressure.

If you climb a mountain to a place where there’s less air above you, there’s less pressure. And vice versa, the lower you go, the higher the pressure. We call sea-level standard pressure, but if you go below sea level (into a cave for instance) air pressure increases. 

[Students may know that air high in the atmosphere is thinner than that near sea level. While that’s important, it’s a separate issue and we don’t deal with it yet.]

This is part 3 of our conceptual journey—we’ve determined that air is stuff and we’ve connected weight to pressure. The definition of stuff is that it has weight and takes up space. And if air has weight, it must be able to produce pressure by sitting on stuff. 

And what keeps air sitting on Earth? The same force that keeps every other substance sitting on Earth… gravity! Just because it’s light and thin and invisible doesn’t make it immune to gravity. Gravity gives air its weight and air’s weight produces pressure. It’s that simple. The complicated part is that we haven’t trained our brains to think in those terms. We forget that air is there and we forget that air is stuff. So it’s helpful to refer to experiments that kids have completed—like trying to pour water into a sealed bottle (experiment #1 ). The water won’t go in because the bottle is already full… of air.

And this is our job as teachers—to help kids think like scientists.

4. Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Playing with Suction Cups

Now that we’re beginning to get an idea of where air pressure comes from, what if we could change it? What if we could change the pressure around an object? How would that affect it? In this activity, we play with suction cups. Their shape allows them to trap some air and then change their volume. 

If their volume increases but the amount of air inside stays the same, the pressure will drop. Now the inside pressure is less than the outside pressure. It’s this small difference that makes suction cups stick. The higher outside air pressure is pushing them against the surface, keeping them attached.

This is a good activity to delve into the idea that pressure can come from two different sources. We’ve already looked at what causes the outside, or atmospheric, pressure (air’s weight). 

And now we’re looking at the pressure which comes from the air pushing against the sides of the container. All gasses exhibit this pushiness. This is a more common understanding of air pressure and one that confuses kids when they’re learning about atmospheric pressure.

5. Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Playing in the Tub

Who hasn’t tried this? Umm, a lot of kids apparently. Part of our job as science teachers is to help kids play with materials so they can discover concepts on their own. Play builds a library of phenomena and experiences that kids can refer to when unpacking their understandings.  Here they see how they can lift a full, upside-down cup and it doesn’t empty. It remains full until the rim of the cup breaks the surface of the water. They can use a bottle of any shape or size and see the same results.

What keeps the water in the cup? 

Water seeks its level by falling to the lowest point. But for water to leave this cup, a vacuum would have to form in the space since there’s no way for air to enter. The surrounding air pressure pushes on the surface of the water and holds the water in the cup. 

What if the cup were very tall, wouldn’t the pressure from the water in the cup overwhelm the atmospheric pressure? Yup!

Normal air pressure is about 15 pounds per square inch. For a one inch column of water to weigh 15 pounds, it would need to be about 32 feet high. 

Above 32 feet a vacuum would form and the water would not stay higher than that. This is the basis for early barometers. These were made with mercury because it’s super dense and therefore short enough to fit inside a room. Making a water barometer is a cool experiment if you have the time and space for it.

Do you see the barometer here? The sealed tube of mercury is inverted into an open dish of mercury, just like the experiment we did with the cup and water. As the room’s air pressure rises and falls because of changing weather, the height of the mercury will rise and fall.

(Click the image to go to the full painting)

6. Determining Density: An Experiment for Kids

This is the classic way to find the density of an object. While you can use anything that sinks, I prefer polymer clay. It’s sold under brand names Fimo and Sculpey, but there are off-brands too. The beauty of this clay is that it doesn’t dry out, doesn’t leave a residue, and you can use it in water. 

But why clay? By using clay, you can show that density is a quality of a substance. It doesn’t change if you have more or less of the substance. Kids can calculate the density for two or three different-sized lumps to prove this to themselves.

Click the image to go to the lab directions.

7. How do Boats Float? A Buoyancy Lab

You can understand floating and sinking in two ways: 

First, you can look at the way pressure changes with the depth or height of a fluid. As we saw in Activity #3 above, the pressure in a fluid depends on how deep the fluid is. The deeper you are, the higher the pressure is. So, if you’re standing in water, the pressure at your feet is higher than near your head. This difference in pressure causes a force that pushes you upward.

Do you float? It depends. You also have a downward force (your weight) so these two forces work against each other and the larger one wins. 

Another way to look at sinking and floating is to realize that water holds up the water above it. If you could remove a chunk of water and replace it with another object of identical size, will that object float or sink? It depends. If the object weighs more than the same volume of water, then it will sink. If it weighs less, it will float. And if it weighs exactly the same, it will neither float nor sink but stay where you put it.

It’s this second idea that we’re exploring here. We’re determining how much water an object displaces and whether that amount of water weighs more or less than the object. The cool thing about this procedure is that you can use it with floating objects. Here the boat displaces an amount of water. If we collect and weigh this water, we see that it weighs more than the entire boat. Here we're using polymer clay which is cool because it won't float if it's a solid ball, but it does float if its shaped like a boat. You could also use a square of foil to shape an aluminum foil boat but it's a little less forgiving when trying to reshape it multiple times..

So the weight of the boat (a downward force) is less than what the water can support (the upward force) and the boat floats. If we loaded the boat with weights, it would still displace the same amount of water. When would it sink? At the point when its weight increased beyond the weight of the displaced water. 

I like this setup because it’s simple and cheap to make and is easy to store.

8. Air Is Compressible: How to Deflate a Marshmallow

This activity uses two different pumps—one that pumps air into a bottle and one that pumps air out of a bottle. Can you think what beverage you might use each for?

I love using marshmallows for this since they’re soooo visual. This always draws a WOW from kids and they want to do it over and over. When you pump air in, the marshmallows contract and when you pump the air out, they expand. The marshmallows fatigue over time, but you can use them a few times for sure.

Here we’re back to exploring the idea that air pressure is a function of how much gas is inside a confined space. If you add more molecules to the space, the pressure goes up and if you take some out, the pressure drops. This doesn’t explain surrounding (ambient) air pressure or why that rises and falls, but it’s an important part of understanding.

9. Out with a Bang: Heat Causes Expansion

This is another not-to-be-missed activity that your students will want to try over and over. It’s simple and quick. I let them do it themselves, though I supervised closely.

Add a centimeter or two of water to an empty can. Place it on a hot plate until the water is at or near boiling. Using tongs, remove the can and invert it into a bowl of water. BANG! The can collapses instantly.

What’s going on? As you heat the water, it turns to gas and drives out much of the air that was filling the can. Since the water vapor is hot, it doesn’t take much to fill the can. When you place the can into the water, it cools and the water vapor condenses. The pressure in the can drops dramatically (since it’s sealed and no air can get in) and the higher outside air crushes the can.

Sometimes the can doesn’t get crushed, but fills with water. Can you see why? Here, the air pressure pushes water into the can until the air pressure inside and outside are equal. It’s the same explanation but with a different outcome. And if this happens, you can reuse the can for another try!

10. Local Pressure: Heat Causes Expansion

This is the last in our lineup. Here we add some very hot water to a milk jug and swirl it around to heat the plastic. Next we dump out the water and cap the jug and wait. Before long the jug implodes. It’s not as dramatic as the previous demo but it gets the point across. I appreciate doing different setups that focus on the same concepts. It helps solidify ideas.

Plus, we’re scientists, we repeat stuff.

As much as possible, we begin with concrete experiences that kids use to construct their understanding based on what they’re seeing. A sequence like this forms the basis of our comprehension and gives us something to discuss and return to again and again.

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Top 10 Air Pressure Experiments: Fun & Easy

Are you ready to be blown away by some exciting air pressure experiments?

Air pressure experiments can be a great way to spark students’ interest in science and encourage them to explore the world around them.

These hands-on experiments help students better understand the properties of air and how it behaves under different conditions, such as changes in pressure or temperature.

1. Balloon-Powered DIY Drink Dispenser

Get ready to impress your guests with your very own balloon-powered drink dispenser and discover the amazing potential of air pressure!

This experiment showcases the principles of air pressure and fluid dynamics, making it an excellent opportunity for students and science enthusiasts to learn about these fundamental concepts in a fun and engaging way.

2. Make A Bottle Rocket

Get ready for lift-off with this exciting experiment that will have you launching your very own bottle rocket! By harnessing the power of air pressure, you can create a simple yet thrilling rocket that flies high into the sky.

Learn more: Make a Bottle Rocket

3. Flying Ping-Pong

With one hand, place the ping-pong ball over the paper cone you’ve made, and with the other, blow a steady stream of air to cause the ball to levitate.

By gaining an understanding of Bernoulli’s principle, students can unlock the potential to design and create innovative solutions to real-world problems in a variety of fields.

Learn more: Bernoulli Principle for Kids

4. Air Pressure and Bottle

Get ready to witness a mind-blowing experiment that showcases the power of air pressure! By simply making a small hole in a plastic bottle and filling it with water, you can witness the incredible effects of air pressure at work.

5. Air-Powered Lift

Get ready to amaze your friends with this exciting experiment! With just a glass, a candle, and a plate, you can lift the plate using nothing but the power of air pressure.

6. Egg in a Bottle

With this exciting experiment using just a bottle, learn about the strength of air pressure! You may produce a variety of fascinating and unexpected effects by adjusting the air pressure inside the bottle.

7. Balloon Air Pressure Experiments

With this exciting experiment using just a bottle, learn about the strength of air pressure! You may produce a variety of fascinating and bizarre outcomes by regulating the air pressure inside the bottle.

Learn more: Balloon in a Bottle

8. Weather: Measuring Air Pressure

Get ready to become a meteorologist with this fascinating experiment that allows you to measure air pressure and predict changes in the weather!

By using a simple barometer made from a glass jar, a balloon, and a straw, you can measure changes in air pressure and use them to predict changes in the weather.\

9. Can Crush

The Can Crush experiment is a great demonstration of the effects of air pressure and it can be a fun and engaging activity for students.

10. DIY Model Lungs-Air Pressure Experiment

The balloon lung experiment is a fascinating demonstration that combines the principles of air pressure and the mechanics of the respiratory system.

Similar Posts:

• 68 Best Chemistry Experiments: Learn About Chemical Reactions
• Top 50 Fun Food Science Experiments
• 37 Water Science Experiments: Fun & Easy

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Properties of Air - Air Aerodynamics Flight - Science - Grade 6

Back to Science

Air takes up space

Air has mass/weight

Air is affected by heat

Air exerts pressure

Air can be compressed

Air is affected by altitude

Air Takes Up Space

Take an empty ziploc bag, open it and pull it through the air like a parachute. Now close it, seal it and try to squish the bag. There’s nothing in the bag, right? Wrong. The ziploc bag is full of air.

You can also prove this by blowing up a balloon. The balloon expands because you are putting something into the balloon; air. This air takes up space, so the more air you put into the balloon, the more space it takes up. When you use a pump to blow up a football, you don’t put nothing into it, you put air into it - this air takes up space which is why the football expands.

Try it Yourself:

Tube in a Cup    |   Air Force    |   Diving Paper    |   Huff and Puff

Air Has Mass

Place an empty balloon on a scale and weigh it. Take this same ballon and inflate it. Weigh it again. What do you see?. A really clear way to show this is to make a balance with a stick or coat-hanger suspended by a string in the middle. Tie an empty balloon on each side to prove they weigh the same. Inflate one balloon and rehang it. That side of the balance will be heavier. If air had no mass, there would’ve been no change.

Air is really quite heavy. It is just that it has always been there for you and me so we do not notice. Asking a human if air is heavy is like asking a fish if water is heavy.

Every square inch of surface on the earth has about 15 pounds of air sitting on it. (Air is piled about 100 miles high on each square inch.) Just for fun, calculate the number of square inches on the top of your head and multiply it by 15. Wow... you are holding all that up!?!?

Balancing Act    |   Feel the Force

Air Exerts Pressure

Take a metre stick and lay it on a table. Unfold a full page of a newspaper and lay it flat over the metre stick. Push down on the other end of the metre stick. What happens? Why can’t you lift a super-light piece of paper? Air exerts pressure (in all directions) .

The air above the paper pushes down on it (pressure). This pressure is what makes the paper lay flat on the table - it’s being pushed down. Even though they’re too tiny to see, all the molecules of air in the atmosphere above your head weigh something. And the combined weight of these molecules causes a pressure pressing down on your body of 10,000 kg per square metre (10,000 kg = 22,000 lbs). This means that the mass of the air above the 0.1 square metre cross section of your body is 1,000 kg, or a tonne.

If you tried to lift a small car, you’d definitely notice it, so why don’t we notice that there’s a tonne of air pressing down on us? Well, the air exerts this force in all directions , so as well as pushing down on us, it also pushes up and balances out the force on our bodies so that we don’t collapse.

Video Explanation

Air Pressure

Feel the Force    |   Test Your Strength    |   Unspillable Water

Air is affected by Temperature

Take a balloon and place it over the top of a pop bottle (2L is best with a little bit of water in it). Observe the size of the balloon now (@ room temperature). Now place it in a freezer for 10 minutes, remove it and observe size of balloon. Now take the bottle and hold it in a baking dish of almost-boiling water for 10 minutes. Now let the bottle sit on the table for 10 minutes. You should now see the balloon return to the same size as it was to start.

The greater the temperature, the faster the air particles move (increasing pressure), hitting the sides of the balloon more often and harder, making the balloon inflate more. The colder the air becomes though, the slower the air particles move (lowering pressure), resulting in the same amount of air now taking up less space. This is why the beach-ball you left in the garage over night will be “smaller” in the morning that it was during the day (when it was warmer).

Adjust the Volume

Temperature inside and outside the balloon is equal meaning the air pressure is the same. The air pressure inside and outside balloon is the exact same, so there is no change.

The air inside the balloon is heated, causing the air pressure to increase, making the air spread out, making it push against the sides of the balloon. The pressure inside the balloon is now NOT equal to the outside. The balloon will expand until the pressure inside the balloon (or temperature), is the same as the pressure (temperature) outside.

The air is cooled, decreasing the pressure. The balloon will shrink until the temperature (aka pressure) inside the balloon is equal to the temperature outside.

Air can be Compressed

Take a plastic pop bottle and with the cap off the bottle, hold you hand above the mouth of the bottle and squeeze.  What do you feel?  Screw the cap on tightly and squeeze again.  What happens when you squeeze the bottle now?  Now, fill the bottle completely with water, replace the cap and squeeze again.  What do you feel now?

When you squeezed the open bottle, you forced some of the air out of the mouth.  When you placed the cap on the bottle and squeezed again, there was no place for the air to go, but you were able to squeeze the bottle together.  In other words, you were able to compress (or squeeze together) the air inside the bottle.  However, when you filled the bottle with water and capped it, you could not squeeze the bottle very much at all because you could not compress the water inside.

Gases such as air can be compressed, but liquids such as water, cannot be compressed.

Balloon Rocket    |   Book Blast

Air is affected by Altitude

The higher you are, the lower the air pressure. There is less air above you to push the air down (which would increase the air pressure). This is why climbers on Everest use oxygen tanks - the air outside is too thin at the summit for them to breathe normally. Human bodies are used to air pressure. The air pressure in our lungs, ears and stomachs is the same as the air pressure outside of our bodies, which ensures that we don’t get crushed. Our bodies are also flexible enough to cope when the inside and outside pressures aren’t exactly the same. Airplanes need pressurized cabins to compensate for the lower air pressure at high altitudes. Despite this “pretend” atmosphere, the air pressure inside an plane is not the same as at sea level. You might have noticed that if you drink from a plastic bottle during a flight and put the lid back on, when you land the bottle will be crushed. This is because the air in the bottle is at the lower pressure of the airplane cabin and it can’t withstand the higher air pressure at ground level.

You’ve probably also noticed that your ears pop during the take off or landing of a flight. This is caused by the difference in air pressure on either side of your ear drums and the only way to equalize the pressures is to yawn, chew some gum or breathing out while holding your nose.

Air Buoyancy

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6 Air Pressure Experiments for Kids

May 26, 2014 By Emma Vanstone 2 Comments

These air pressure experiments are great fun and fantastic demonstrations of a fascinating force.

What is air pressure?

Air pressure is the weight of the atmosphere pressing down on Earth. We measure air pressure using a barometer . Have you ever climbed a mountain or visited an area at a high altitude and found you get out of breath more easily? This is because air pressure decreases at higher altitudes. Have you been on a plane and felt discomfort in your ears? This is due to changes in air pressure. Changes in air pressure allow for lots of cool science experiments. Here are some of our favourite air pressure experiments .

Air Pressure Experiments

Make a drinks dispenser.

This easy drinks dispenser is a brilliant science project and useful too! Party guests will wonder how this fun science trick works!

Make a Bottle Rocket

My favourite and the most impressive of these activities is this fantastic bottle rocket!  Make sure you have a lot of space to launch the rocket, as ours flew with a lot more force than we expected.

Blow Paper into a Bottle

Try and blow a ball of paper into a squash bottle and watch it fly back out. This one had my 6-year-old in hysterics and is a super simple demonstration of air pressure.

Make a Barometer and Measure Air Pressure

Record air pressure over a period of time with this easy to make  barometer . You should find that air pressure varies with the weather and can be used to predict the weather.

Egg into a Jar

Watch an  egg magically drop into a jar . This happens because the air inside the jar is heated by the lit matches. After heating, the air starts to escape past the egg and as the air cools, the now higher pressure air on the outside forces the egg into the jar.

Make a Fake Lung

Find out how your lungs work with this fun model lung  activity showing how changes in air pressure move air in and our of the lungs.

Rising Water Air Pressure Demonstration

Watch water rise up into a glass with this simple air pressure demonstration using a candle, water and glass.

We also love this fun air pressure game on Kids Activities Blog .

Can you think of any more air pressure experiments or activity ideas to demonstrate air pressure for us?

Last Updated on March 22, 2023 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

June 16, 2014 at 5:44 am

I am definitely going to try this experiments because kids love all these activities and there are generally very eager to experiment new things.

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Activity Length

10 activities, matter weather, activity type.

In these activities students explore the impressive force of air and learn how air pressure affects their daily lives.

We may not realize it, and we can't always feel it with our senses, the air that surrounds us is exerting a huge amount of pressure on every square centimetre of our bodies.

At this very moment, we have the equivalent weight of a car pushing down on our heads. Do you see anything?

List of Activities :

A ir Pressure Game Egg in a Bottle Balloon in a Bottle What's in a Bottle? The Bernoulli Challenge Bernoulli Candle Experiment Plane Wing Simulator Straw Poppers Human Lung Simulator Build a Barometer Air Cannon Incompressible Water Cup and Card Balloon and Cup Attraction Windbag

Describe the characteristics of air.

Explain how air pressure works.

Discuss how air pressure affects our daily lives.

See individual activities for materials.

We are constantly surrounded by lots of tiny and invisible air particles. We often think of air as being something light and weightless. In reality, air is a gas that takes up space and has mass (weight). Since there is a lot of “empty” space between air molecules, air can be compressed to fit in a smaller volume.

Air not only has mass, but exerts pressure as well. The particles of air push in all directions and the force that is exerted is called air pressure.

While air pressure can refer to the pressure of air within a confined area (car tire or football), atmospheric pressure specifically refers to the air pressure exerted by the air molecules above a given point in the Earth’s atmosphere. The closer we get to the Earth, the higher the atmospheric pressure due to the weight of air particles above. This is why there is less air pressure at the top of a mountain than at sea level. The weight of air above compresses the air particles near the surface of the Earth, creating a higher density of particles. The tool used to measure atmospheric pressure is called a barometer. You cannot use a barometer to measure the air pressure inside a tire, a football, or an air mattress.

When we jump into a pool, we feel the weight of the water pressing down on us from all directions. This force is known as water pressure. The deeper you sink, the more pressure you will feel. This is because you have the weight of the water on top of you trying to compress you.

To help us visualize air pressure, imagine that we’re living at the bottom of an ocean of air. At sea level, the air pressure is greater than on the top of a mountain since you have the weight of more air pushing down on you.

How heavy is that air? A cube of air 1 metre per side has a mass of 1 kilogram. The Earth’s atmosphere is about 480 kilometres thick. This means that on the surface of the Earth, we have 480 kilometres of air pushing down on us. That’s 1,700 kilograms on each of our heads (which is roughly the equivalent of the weight of a male hippopotamus!).

So why don’t we get flattened by all that air pressure? We have air and fluids inside your body that exert a pressure outward, cancelling out the atmospheric pressure around us. This ensures that our bodies do not collapse under the weight of the air around us.

One of the most important concepts to remember in this unit is that air always flows from a place with high pressure to a place with low pressure. Air will perform amazing feats to get from a high-pressure region to a low-pressure region, including pushing and lifting things in its way. Air flowing from a high-pressure region to a low-pressure region is often felt as wind.

To help students remember the direction of airflow, they can use the phrase “winds blow from high to low.”

In these activities, students will discover how changes in air pressure contribute to many different things, including weather patterns, our respiratory system, and the lift required by airplanes.

Air pressure – The force of air particles against a surface. Atmospheric pressure – The air pressure of the Earth’s atmosphere by the air above a given point. Bernoulli’s principle – The faster a fluid (air) flows, the less pressure it creates. Compression – To squeeze together. Density – The mass per unit volume (or the number of air particles in a particular location). Diaphragm – A thin, circular sheet of muscle below the ribcage that contracts and expands to increase and decrease the volume in the chest cavity. Exhalation – The removal of air from the lungs. Expansion – To spread out. Force – A push or pull that can cause an object with mass to change its velocity, direction, or shape. Inhalation – The intake of air into the lungs. Lift – The upward motion generated under the wings as a plane moves forward. Respiratory system – The part of our bodies that allow us to breathe (consisting of lungs, airways, and muscles). Volume – The amount of space occupied by a substance. Wind – The flow of air from a high pressure system to a low pressure system.

Other Resources

NASA | 10 Interesting Things About Air

Science World | YouTube | The Air Show

How Stuff Works | Ears and Diving

Science Kids at Home | Air pressure and Temperature

Kids Science Experiments | Air Pressure

NASA | What makes a plane go up?

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | How things Fly

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Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

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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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Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

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Where's the air.

Air can be a big brain bender for first grade scientists. After all, you can’t see it, you can’t taste it, and if you try to reach out and touch it, people might think you’re a little nuts. So how can your child tell it’s real?

Some very, very smart people have wondered the same thing for centuries. One way we can tell that air exists is by observing some of the things it does. Air can fill a balloon, for example, and when it’s in the form of wind, it can move leaves and blow your hair around. Here’s a quick, fun experiment that your child can do with just a few things from around the house.

What You Need:

What you do:.

• Have your child place the jar on a tabletop.
• About ten inches behind the jar, place a short (4-inches tall or so) candle upright, and light it. The flame should be entirely centered behind the jar—not over to the side, and not taller than the jar.
• Invite your child to make a scientific guess—a hypothesis—about this candle. If your child blows hard on the jar, not the candle, will anything happen? Will the candle flame stay the same?
• Now ask your child to blow hard on the jar on the opposite side of the candle—so that the jar is directly in front of her with the candle directly behind it.
• What happens when she blows on the jar? The candle should go out immediately! (If it doesn’t, move it a little bit forward so it’s closer to the back of the jar). How did this happen? Did the air travel through the jar? Ask your child what she thinks. What happened was that the air separated when it hit the sides of the jar and flowed around its curves to come together again and form a stream that hit the candle. Sure, you couldn’t see it, but it happened!

When air comes into contact with objects, it flows around the contours of the object it hits, creating forces that can lift kites and blow out candles. In fact, the same property is what make flying a plane possible! This experiment will not only amaze your child, but it will also get her interested in learning some basic physics concepts regarding the important properties of air.

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Easy Science Experiments for Kids All About Air

Here are some easy science experiments for kids that can help you teach children everything they need to know about air and it's properties.

1. Air Takes Up Space

Even though we can not see air, it can fill up a space. Question: How can we capture air?

Easy Science Experiments

Blow up a ballon. What is inside the balloon?

Soap Bubbles

Let the children blow soap bubbles. The air from their lungs is creating the bubbles.

A parachuter is able to glide in the sky thanks to the air his/her parachute captures.

1. Take a small square piece of material and attach strings to it's four corners. 2. Take a small doll and attach the other ends of the strings to it. 3. Throw the parachute in the air and see how it slowly lands safely.

2. Air Makes Sounds When Moving

Anything that can shake or vibrate moves the air and thus creates a sound. Did you know that without air there would be no sound? In outer space for example there is no air and no sound! Here are a couple of easy science experiments for kids that will help you explore this property.

Musical Instruments

Experiment with horn instruments such as a trumpet, saxophone, tuba and so on.

Making Chimes

1. Cut string in different lengths. 2. Attach one end of the strings to the bottom of a strawberry basket. 3. Attach bells to the other ends of the strings. 4. Add a string to the top of the basket creating a handle. 5. Hang the chime outside. 6. Does it make a sound when it is windy?

3. Air is Invisible and Everywhere

Our planet is surrounded by air even though we can not see it. Here are some simple ways to bring awareness and new appreciation for air.

Waving Fans

Even though we can not see air we can feel it on our skin. Using a variety of fans (hand fans, electric fans and ceiling fans) explore the air around. It is cool? hot?

4. Air Can Push Things

When air moves it is called wind. Strong winds are able to move heavy objects effortlessly.

What makes sail boats small and massive move? Explain the importance of the sail and why it is shaped as such.

1. Tape clear acetate paper onto the window.

2. Look through the paper and choose one cloud. Trace it.

3. Wait a minute, remain in the same spot and re-trace the cloud using a different color marker.

4. Discuss with the child:

What makes the cloud move? How come sometimes clouds move fast and sometimes slow?

Preschool Activities Home > Easy Science Experiments for Air

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Primary science investigations

• 2 Air pressure and the antigravity bottle
• 3 Air pressure, gases and the leaky bottle
• 4 Dissolving, density and ‘heavy’ sugar
• 5 Fizzy irreversible changes and bath bombs
• 6 Irreversible changes and the ‘fire extinguisher’
• 7 Irreversible changes and the ‘freaky hand’
• 8 Properties of gases, air pressure and ‘sticky’ cups
• 9 Properties of solids and ‘biscuit bashing’
• 10 Viscosity and ‘racing’ liquids
• 11 Freezing and the ‘intriguing ice’ experiment
• 12 Liquids, gases and the ‘lava lamp’

Air pressure and the antigravity bottle

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Take your learners’ understanding of forces further with this simple investigation exploring air pressure and gravity

This resource is also available in Welsh and Irish

Get the Welsh language version .

Get the Irish language version .

This experiment focuses on how air pressure can overcome gravity. First watch the ‘anti-gravity bottle’ demonstration video, then find out how your learners can investigate air pressure using cups, water and cardboard. 

Learning objectives

• To understand that we notice the force of air when it moves objects, but particles of air are moving all the time and create forces that we usually don’t notice.
• To appreciate that air creates a force and this force acts in all directions, not just ‘downward’ towards Earth.
• To learn that when we consider force of air over a specific area, we call this air pressure.
• To understand that air pressure of a sufficient magnitude acting upwards on an object can overcome the effects of gravity.

Enquiry skills:

• Making predictions, observations and comparisons.

Watch the video

The video below shows how to carry out the ‘anti-gravity bottle’ demonstration.

Source: Royal Society of Chemistry

Demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure to make an anti-gravity bottle with primary students.

Download the supporting materials

Set up and run the investigation with your class using the teacher notes and classroom slides, featuring a full equipment list, method, key words and definitions, questions for learners, FAQs and more.

• Teacher notes

PDF  |  Editable Word document

Classroom slides

PDF  |  Editable PowerPoint document

DOWNLOAD ALL

What do learners need to know first?

Learners should be able to articulate that a force is a push or pull which acts on objects. They should also be familiar with gravity being a type of force that pulls objects towards the Earth.

Learners should be aware of what ‘area’ means (a measure of surface covered), particularly in relation to rectangles and squares.

Equipment list

• A drinking glass or tumbler – this can be made of a hard plastic but not one which will ‘crush’ in the hand
• A flat piece of card that will fit over, and extend beyond, the opening of the glass
• Water to fill the glass
• A deep sided tray or basin to catch spillages

Additional resources

• Investigate air pressure further in our leaky bottle investigation or sticky cups investigation . 
• Read up on solids, liquids and gases in this  That’s Chemistry!  textbook chapter .
• Introduce your learners to solids, liquids and gases with our  primary science podcast . 

Anti-gravity bottle: teacher notes

Anti-gravity bottle: classroom slides, additional information.

Primary science investigations were developed in collaboration with the Primary Science Teaching Trust

Air pressure, gases and the leaky bottle

Dissolving, density and ‘heavy’ sugar

Fizzy irreversible changes and bath bombs

Irreversible changes and the ‘fire extinguisher’

Irreversible changes and the ‘freaky hand’

Properties of gases, air pressure and ‘sticky’ cups

Properties of solids and ‘biscuit bashing’

Viscosity and ‘racing’ liquids

Freezing and the ‘intriguing ice’ experiment

Liquids, gases and the ‘lava lamp’

• Practical experiments
• Properties of matter

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