Balloons bring great fun to the classroom, until they break. What's a teacher to do then? Break out the balloon of the computer age with a fun interactive! Science scholars add and remove atoms from their virtual balloons and observe pressure at work.

Concepts

gas pressure, gases, properties of gases, velocity

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Tell pupils to add atoms to the balloon until they observe the dotted line of the barrier positioned closer to the inside of the balloon than the outside of the balloon. What would happen if they added too many atoms?
• Change the scenario and remove a large number of atoms from the balloon. What would the balloon look like?

Classroom Considerations

• Conduct a review of velocity with the class so they understand the concept as it relates to gas pressure

Pros

• The resource changes quickly as users add and remove atoms
• Arrows showing the velocity of each atom can help incorporate that concept into the lesson, or you can remove them entirely

Cons

• None