Egg in a Bottle

• The egg in a bottle experiment examines the effect that a disparity in air pressure has on physical objects. To begin, hard-boil eggs and remove their shells. Place one of the eggs across the top of an empty jar, balancing it. Observe what happens to the egg; it should remain in balance, exerting a force down onto the top of the jar while the jar and the air inside exert an equal and opposite force back. Drop two lit matches into the jar and repeat the experiment; the egg should now be "sucked" into the jar. Apply your scientific knowledge to this occurrence; you will realize the egg was not "sucked" into the jar, but pushed in by the air in the room suddenly finding itself imbalanced. The heat of the flame has used up some of the air in the jar and so started to draw more air into the jar, tugging the egg down with it.
  
  

Air Pressure in Containment

• Newton's laws state that a gas within a contained space, such as within a balloon, will exert an equal force on all sides which contain it. If one side is suddenly breached, the air particles nearest this breach will escape, causing a void to form which is then filled by particles from the other side of the balloon which flow down the concentration gradient and eventually escape also. This sudden focus of movement can be harnessed to make a rocket car. Make a wheeled cradle, similar to a roller skate, and tether a inflated balloon to it. Release the valve of the balloon and use the movement of the car to demonstrate the power of pressurized air.
  
  

Relationship Between Air Pressure and Sound

• As sound is produced by vibrating air particles, you would expect sound levels to decrease when these air particles begin to be removed. This theory can be experimented on by placing a ringing alarm clock inside a vacuum chamber and slowly reducing the concentration of air particles within the chamber. As the intensity of the vacuum increases, you will notice a decrease in volume.
  
  

Air Pressure and Weather

• Weather reports frequently tell us about areas of high and low pressure, but what do these areas mean in terms of actual weather? Use a barometer to gauge air pressure twice a day for a month. After gauging the air pressure, make detailed notes and analyses of the weather conditions. These observations can be presented to support or disprove your own hypothesis. You will notice that low pressure brings rain and other inclement weather, while high pressure usually means fair weather.