Make and Use a Barometer to Measure Air Pressure
Overview
Air pressure is the result of the weight of tiny particles of air (air molecules) pushing down on an area. While invisible to the naked eye (i.e. microscopic), they nevertheless take up space and have weight. For example, take a deep breath while holding your hand on your ribs and observe what happens. Did you feel your chest expand? Why did it expand?
Air pressure expands because the air molecules take up space in your lungs, causing your chest to expand. Furthermore, air can be compressed to fit in a smaller volume since there's a lot of empty space between the air molecules. When compressed, air is placed under high pressure. Meteorologists measure these changes in the air to forecast weather, and the tool they use is a barometer. The common units of measurement that barometers use are millibars (mb) or inches of mercury.
Make a Barometer
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- Procedure
How does this measure air pressure?
High pressure will make the balloon seal dip causing the straw go up. Low pressure will make the balloon puff up causing the straw to go down.
- Materials
- Barometer
- Procedure
- lace the completed barometer and scale in a shaded location free from temperature changes (i.e. not near a window as sunlight will adversely affect the barometer's results).
- In your notebook or the table below, record the current date, time, the weather conditions, and air pressure (i.e. the level where the end of the straw measures on the scale).
- Continue checking the barometer twice a day (if possible) each day over a period of several weeks.
Data Table
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Sample Data Table
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