different air has different weight
introduction
Our group project is ‘the weight of air’. By comparing clean air with polluted air the weight of the various gases in the air is different. Our purpose of this project aims to children’s health. The toxic fumes that come out of a vehicle exhaust pipe are also invisible and denser than air so they stay close to the ground, and at the height children and babies in buggies are breathing.
As children bresthe 2-3 times more air than adults relative to their body weight they are exposed to higher concertrations and higher volumes of toxic air when near congested traffic or riding vehicles. One reason why children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution is that they breathe more rapidly than adults and so absorb more pollutants. Young children’s immune systems are still developing, and their lungs are still growing. With every breath, children take in more air per unit of body weight than adults. By extension, when air is toxic, they take in more toxic air per unit of body weight than adults. Moreover, the impacts have ripple effects into other critical aspects of children’s lives. For example, when children get sick, they might miss school, further limiting their learning and development potential.
They also live closer to the ground, where some pollutants reach peak concentrations - at a time when their brains and bodies are still developing. Children also have higher exposure to air pollution than adults, since they have relatively higher minute ventilation, physical activity, and spend more time outdoors.
recipe for action
Ingredients
A fish tank (small or big - we recommend it made with transparent materials for better observation).
Balloon
Gloves
Straw
Rubbers
Dry Ice
Water Bottle
Soap
Needle
Water
Instructions
Step 1 / Collect Air
Use needle to create a hole on the bottle.
Insert a balloon inside and stretch the head over the top of bottle.
Put your mouth over the hole to keep the balloon inflate.
Tie the balloon.
Try to collect the air at different places with different polluted level, then moving on to the next step for different experiences.
Step 2 /Measure Air
Prepare in the tank.
Break dry ice into cubes (please do not touch the ice without wearing gloves and help your kids).
Pour an amount of water slowly into the tank until the smoke rises enough.
Experiment 1 (Big tank)
Blow the balloon (as big as 1/4 of the mouth of the tank).
Hold the balloon just above the mouth of the tank, and slowly release our hands to blow bubbles.
Experiment 2 (Small Tank)
Blow the balloon.
Mixing soap with water follows the 3:1 proportion for the best result.
Put the straw into the balloon's mouth and tie around it with a rubber, and squeeze the straw so the air is not released.
Dip the straw's mouth into soap sollution, then release your hand to let the air inside the balloon blow bubbles.
By Tran Nguyen Lan Chi, Li Qinxuan (Ivy), Vo Hoang Bao Ngoc (Krystal), Wu Cuiyi (Liz), Tran Nguyen Phuong Trang (Yumi)