Prove that air has mass

Use the Pressure-Pumper to pump air into a 2-liter bottle, then challenge your students to explain the resulting mass gain. Hands-on activities teach the relationship between pressure and temperature (demonstrated with a temperature strip to the right), adiabatic expansion and cloud formation, and finding the mass of air.

Ideal for elementary/ middle level students, each kit comes with 15 Pressure-Pumpers, 15 Temperature Strips, and three activity sheets. Bottle not included. Extra Information Along with the Vacuum Pumper and Chamber, the Pressure Pumper can be used to study many aspects of gases and pressure.

A sample activity on Weighing Air from the datasheet is given below:

Attach a Pressure-Pumper to a two liter pop bottle. Measure the mass of the bottles to at least the nearest 0.1 gram. Record the mass in the table below. Pump the Pressure-Pumper 25 times. Repeat

Step 2. Pump the Pressure-Pumper another 25 times. Repeat step 2. Repeat this process until you have 225 total pumps, recording the mass of the bottle each time. Release the pressure by slowly removing the Pressure Pumper and find the mass a final time. Calculate the mass gained (or lost) during each step.

Science Standards:
In using this product, many of the national and states science education standards are covered. Some examples are provided here. These are representative, however. Check with your state to find the exact standards.

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor. The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations. Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and climate. Explain physical changes in terms of the arrangement and motion of atoms and molecules. Gases have neither a determined shape nor a definite volume. Gases assume the shape and volume of a closed container.

Please note: The Individual Pressure Pumper fits most 2-liter and 20 oz soda bottles.

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