Hot Air Ballon Teach Convection and Buoyancy

Today I will be showing you how to make a hot air ballon to teach your class about convection heat transfer and buoyancy. Before doing this activity with your class I recommend you explain to your class some basic info on the history of hot air balloons and some simple principals of how hot air rises.

What you will need for you balloon is:

·         10 sheets of tissue paper
 

·         scissors
 

·        glue stick
 

·         hair dryer

·         paper

To begin you need to draw your template. Use the picture below to draw the measurements on a piece of card board. Now lay tour 10 sheets of paper on top of your cardboard. Use your scissors to cut out your tissue paper to your template. Now cut one 3 by 3 inch piece of tissue paper. You should now have 10 pieces of tissue paper that look like your template and one 3 by 3 inch piece.

It's time to construct your balloon and glue it together. To start construction take 2 panels and lay them on top of each other so that the one on the bottom has a 1 inch margin along the longside of paper. Spread a small amount of glue on the margin from top to bottom. Now fold over the margin on to the top of the other panel. Continue using this method till you've gone altheway around the balloon. Now glue your 3 by 3 inch on top of your ballon where all the pieces of paper meet. Now cut a pice of paper that is the length of the circumfrence of the opening in your balloon and about a inch wide. Staple the paper aroung the opening of balloon.

Wedge your hair dryer so it is pointing up and let it warm up for about 1 minute. Hold the opening of balloon over the hair dryer and hold for 45 second. Now release.

Now explain to your class why the balloon went up. Once they understand that explain how that is buoyancy.