You might have heard of air pressure before, but how much have you seen air pressure in action? Air pressure is the force air exerts on any surface that comes into contact with it. So, we have two pieces of paper, identical in every single property, which we expect will allow them to fall at the same rate, right? What if we change just one thing about one of the pieces of paper? What if we take that one piece of paper and crumple it up to take up less space. Now, if we drop both at the same time, do we expect they will still fall at the same rate? What if we try it with two balloons falling from our Level 4 bridge with one balloon inflated more than the other? Take all of your guesses, then watch the full Science Sunday segment below to see if you guessed correctly.
For more fun with air pressure, check out these Science At Play blog posts:
Science At Play: Air Pressure Pranks
Science At Play: I’ve Got a Crush on You
Now through Labor Day Weekend, the Connecticut Science Center is FREE to all Connecticut kids (ages 18 and under) plus one accompanying adult. Reserve your ticket online at CTScienceCenter.org to ensure your ticket.
Aoife Ryle is a STEM Educator at the Connecticut Science Center. In addition to working with school groups, she works with our Teen Program, Overnights department, and shoots weekly science segments for WFSB. She has a degree in Bioengineering from the University of Maine and has a personal interest in the life sciences and engineering which makes bioengineering a perfect crossover.
Mark Dixon is a meteorologist on WFSB Channel 3 Eyewitness News and a host of the weekly Science Sunday segments with the Connecticut Science Center. He has been nominated for several Emmy awards for weather anchoring and has won awards from the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcaster’s Association and the American Meteorological Society.
