Ask your child if it’s possible to hold a balloon over a candle without the balloon bursting. They will probably say that it isn’t possible because intuition tells us it shouldn’t be. This experiment shows you how you can show them that it is, in fact, possible.

Equipment

  • Balloons
  • A tea candle
  • Matches

Instructions

  1. Make sure an adult is present
  2. Light a tea candle and place it on a sheet of tinfoil
  3. Inflate a balloon and hold it over the candle. How long does it take before it bursts?
  4. Re-light the candle
  5. Fill a balloon with a little bit of water. Inflate it so that there’s both air and water inside the balloon
  6. Hold the balloon over the candle so that the flame hits where the water is. How long does it take before the balloon bursts?

What happens?

The first balloon bursts because heat is transferred from the candle to the balloon. This heat makes the balloon melt so that it pops. But when you fill the balloon with water, the heat is transferred from the candle and to the water. The water heats up, and now the balloon doesn’t melt and burst. The balloon will burst only when you have a larger source of heat that transfers more heat than the water is able to absorb.

Ask your child if it’s possible to hold a balloon over a candle without the balloon bursting. They will probably say that it isn’t possible because intuition tells us it shouldn’t be. This experiment shows you how you can show them that it is, in fact, possible. Equipment Balloons A tea candle Matches Instructions Make….Click to read more