A Science Experiment Using Balloons
Control- the blown up balloon that does not get rubbed on any surface.
Independent variable- hair, bathroom towel, bathrobe
Dependent variable- the time each balloon stays up on the wall.
Hypothesis
I think the balloon that is rubbed on my hair will stay up the longest because human hair has the most electrons.
Materials
� Five blown up balloons that are the same size
� Five surfaces that are made out of different materials.
� Stop watch or a clock.
Procedure
1. Blow up the five balloons so they are the same size.
2. One at a time rub each balloon on a different surface measuring 12 inches long and make sure you rub each one the same number of times as the others.
3. Once you rub the balloon on the surface take the balloon and place it on a measured height on a wall and let it hang or drop. Do the same with the other balloons.
4. Write down the data on a piece of paper and note what time each balloon was placed on the wall, what time it touched the ground, what surface you rubbed the balloon on. Do this for each trial.
Journal
Day 1-12/27/04
The first day I made sure I had all my materials. I went to Walgreens and Right Aid to purchase balloons that were all the same size. I also selected four surfaces for my experiment. I made sure I had a cotton bathroom towel, bathrobe (which is made out of polyester), a piece of nylon carpet and my own hair.
Day 2- 12/28/04
In the morning I did my first trial that involved taking the balloons and rubbing them on each of the different surfaces. After I did that I placed them on the wall to see if they would drop or stay up and I noted the time of day. I then took pictures of the balloons on the wall. Later in the day I wrote down when each balloon fell. I added the information to my graph that was stored on my computer.
Day 3- 12/29/04
In the morning I put up new balloons and did the second trial which involved repeating each of my steps and I took a picture of each surface. During the day I waited until each of the balloons fell and recorded my data.
Day 4- 12/30/04
Today I typed up and began to print out the independent variable (the various surfaces), dependent variable (which were the times the balloons stayed up), constant (the balloons), control (the balloon that was not rubbed up against any surface), and the graph that I started to prepare.
Day 5 – 12/31/04
I started to do the third trial but all the balloons did not fall before I had to go to bed so I had to wait until the morning to record my data on my computer.
Day 6- 1/1/05
In the morning I checked if the balloons fell but they were still up. Near twelve o’clock one balloon fell and then at six o’clock the other one fell. I then put the information I saw onto my computer.
Day 7- 1/2/05
During the day I printed out all my information and made sure I was not missing anything so I would be prepared for tomorrow. I printed out the graph and put everything away. I analyzed my data and came up with a conclusion. In my conclusion I noted that my hypothesis was correct. When I looked at my graph I realized that polyester was the second best so that means it is also a good conductor of static charge.
Conclusion
My hypothesis was that my hair would make the balloon stay up the longest. I had three trials and each time it showed that the balloon that was rubbed on my hair stayed up the longest. The one that stayed up the second longest was the bathrobe that was made out of polyester. The one that stayed up the third longest was the bath towel that was made out of cotton. The last one was the nylon carpet that did not work, just like the control.
