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Description

Added by the GGNZ Programme team.

How to make your own barometer.

See https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/it-s-a-breeze/

Resources

• Balloon
• Scissors
• Jar
• Rubber band
• Tape
• Straw
• Piece of card
• Felt pen

Instructions

1. Cut the top off the balloon (the part which you blow into).

2. Stretch the balloon over the top of the jar and hold it in place with a rubber band.

3. Place the straw across the top of the jar so that one third of the straw is hanging over the edge. Stick the straw to the balloon with tape.

4. Draw three lines on the piece of card that are about half a centimetre apart from each other. Label the first line "high", the second line "moderate" and the third line "low"

5. Tape the card against the back of the jar so that the straw points to moderate.

6. Put your barometer on a flat surface somewhere inside.

7. Leave for a few hours and check where the pencil is pointing to see what the air pressure is.

NOTES:
* You could keep a chart and track how the pressure changes over a few days/weeks
* You could try using it in different locations (eg. different rooms, outside....)

EXPLANATION:
When there is low air pressure the balloon should expand out and the straw will point down. This is because the air inside the balloon now has relatively more air pressure compared to the air outside, it pushes the balloon out as a result.
When there is high air pressure the air on the outside will push the balloon into the jar and the straw will point upwards. The air inside the balloon now has relatively less pressure, this pushes the balloon inwards as a result.
In general, high air pressure indicates fair weather while low air pressure indicates that bad weather is more likely. Although forecasting the weather isn’t an exact science and can be very difficult at times, give it a go and see how accurate you are.

Tags

• barometer
• Meteorologist
• weather

Badge Links

• Meteorologist - Measuring