Investigating Energy – How can you move a balloon rocket to the other side of the room?
Materials:
- Balloons of various shapes and sizes
- String (or fishing line works best), enough to cross an entire room
- Tape
- Straw
- Scissors
- Paper (or print the sample data sheet on page 2)
- Pencil
- Tape measure
- Ruler
What to do:
- Tie one end of the fishing line to a chair, door knob, etc.
- Pass a small piece of straw (about two inches) through the fishing line.
- Secure the other end of the fishing line to another object.
- Choose a balloon to test and make some predictions on your paper
- What balloon shape do you think will travel the farthest? Why?
- What balloon size do you think will travel the farthest? Why?
- If you do not have different balloon shapes, think about the size you blow your balloon to. How will this affect the distance traveled?
- Blow up your balloon, pinch it shut and tape it to the straw at one end of the fishing line.
- If you are looking at the size of the balloon, measure the diameter of the blown up balloon before letting go.
- Let the balloon go and measure how far it traveled. Record your data.
- Try again with different shaped balloons or change the amount of air you blow into your balloon. Collect your data after each try.
Why did this happen?
- Look at all of your data.
- What happened to your balloon?
- Was there a difference between smaller and larger balloons? Why?
- Where does the balloon get the energy to move across the fishing line?
Rocket Balloon Data Sheet
Prediction:
1. What balloon shape do you think will travel the farthest? Why?
I think the _________________________________ shaped balloon will travel the farthest because
2. What balloon size do you think will travel the farthest? Why?
I think the _________________________________ size balloon will travel the farthest because
Data Chart:
| Trial 1 | Trial 2 | Trial 3 | Trial 4 | Trial 5 | |
| Balloon Shape / or Diameter | |||||
| Distance Traveled |
Conclusion:
- What happened to your balloon?
- Was there a difference between smaller and larger balloons? Why?
- Where does the balloon get the energy to move across the fishing line?
Contact education@vinsweb.org with questions or comments.