More Amazing things about Air!

Another experiment to do with 'Air' that we tried was to see if molecules of air could stop paper from getting wet.

What we needed:

Small Glass

A screwed up ball of paper

Glass bowl filled with water

What we did: Put the paper in the bottom of the glass then turned the glass upside down over the bowl and lowered it in to the water. We then lifted the cup straight up out of the bowl and took the paper out.

What happened and why?

The paper remained dry because when the glass was pushed in to the water, the molecules of air did not escape. Instead, they were pressed together and acted as a shield between the water and the paper. 

Pretty cool -  huh?!

Air Force

We are looking at "Air" at the moment. It's amazing what this important, but invisible force can do!
Today we saw how air stops water from entering a bottle.
This is what we used:
A funnel
Small bottle
Plasticine
Glass of water

What we did:
Put the funnel in the bottle and made a small long worm out of the plasticine and fitted this around the bottle neck - making the funnel seal completely and the bottle airtight. We then slowly poured a small amount of water into the bottle - until glass of water was empty.

What happened and how come?
A little water went in to the bottle but as we poured, less entered. Finally, the funnel was full and no water entered the bottle. This was because the air molecules in the closed bottle started pressing together and taking up what space there was- and so stopped any more water from entering.

Try this at home the next time you refill the Tomato Sauce bottle!