Balloon Air Pressure Science Experiments For Kids

 Over View 

In this experiment, you will learn how to suck a balloon into a jar with fire and oxygen. This STEM activity, Air Pressure Balloon Jar teaches kids the basic knowledge of air pressure and oxygen.

Age: 3+           Time: <10 min

 Safety 

1. Adult supervision.
2. Make sure there are no flammable materials around.
3. Beware of burns.

 Materials List 

• Matches
• Balloon
• Glass jar
• Pump

 Instruction 

Step 1/3 – Inflate the balloon and tie it.

Step 2/3 – Ignite the match and throw it into the glass jar.

Step 3/3 – Put the balloon on the mouth of the cup, wait a few seconds and you will find that the match is extinguished and the balloon is sucked in the cup. They stick to each other so firmly.

 Troubleshooting 

Why when I lift the balloon it separates from the jar?
- It can be that the jar is too big so there is no enough vacuum generated to suck the jar firmly. Or, it is that the jar is too heavy.

 Scientific Description 

As the match burns in the bottle, they cause the jar to heat up. As the jar heats, the air inside the jar expands. It pushes some of the upper air out. The lack of oxygen will cause the match flames to go out, and the air inside the jar will begin to cool and shrink back to its normal size, creating a vacuum. So the pressure drops in the bottle. The normal air pressure outside pushes the balloon in the bottle until the pressure outside and inside equals. The balloon is like a one-way valve! It lets the air out, but won’t let air back in!