An Experiment for Science Class?

21. March 2010 by Shannon.

On the website http://earthpro.info I was reading about global warming (a topic of dear interest to a friend of mine… I got there from another link I was on that suggested this site as further reading).  ANYHOW… on that earthpro site, there was a comment left by someone called PHD101 who included a rather interesting experiment to be performed to demonstrate the effects of CO2 on the planet’s overall temperature.

I just wanted to post it somewhere where I woudn’t lose it, since I’d be unlikely to find it again as a comment on a website, you know?  And then I thought that maybe there were some homeschoolers out there who might find the experiment interesting… so I am sharing it here.

PHD101, whoever you are, thank you for your comments and we look forward to trying this little experiment out sometime soon!

” ‘The Little Experiment…’ taking two bottles and filling them with equal parts of water. The one bottle I completely flooded with Co2 making in have an air volume of approx (92% Co2.
The other bottle is just plain air from an air compressor, the air we breath consists of 0.03 percent Co2.
heating up the bottles to the same temperatures. I took the read outs and both were the same. One read out with the Co2 should have been a higher temperature, according to what is the Co2 law… The other read out was read, after removing it from the heat. Same read-outs.
No accelerant an any way co2… Nor heat retention..?

The professor @ MIT of meteorology ,came up with theses theories, “to replace the argon gas in double pane widows, with CO2 if it retains heat so well”,.. if Co2 retains heat so well, than why not fill the Styrofoam types of installation that is used in house with Co2…

Needed supplies…

2 thermometers.
1 paper funnel.
3 2 liter empty soda bottles.
11/2 cup vinegar
3/4 cup baking soda
2 large sphere balloons , just the large enough balloons that will slip over the top opening of a 2 liter plastic soda bottle.
2 equal, identical in size thickness, 20 once cups.
2 twist-up tie off’s.
a large area that has full sun, and is free of debris that might cause shadows, will explain.

You have your (3) bottles, fill one with the 1 and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Make a small funnel out of paper, and pour the backing soda into the bottle of vinegar. This will cause a chain reaction; the vinegar and baking soda mixed, bubbling up “making Co2″… Just like in elementary school, with the toy volcano’s. Immediately place the balloon over the mouth of the two liter bottle, capturing the Co2. Let the balloon fill up. You are now making your own CO2

Let the bottle fill until there is no more Co2 to hold, and or risk of balloon ripping. Now use you tie/ twist tight the balloon. Fill the second 2 liter bottle with exactly 2 cups of water. Now once filled squeeze bottle expelling as much air as possible. Place the twist tied balloon that holds your Co2 over the bottle. squeezing the bottle flat, placing the balloon of Co2 over the bottle opening, and let the bottle fill up with the Co2 from the balloon. leave the balloon over the bottle, this will keep the Co2 form escaping, and will also keep anything else for getting inside. You now have your first controlled mini-environment #1 complete.

Now follow the same steps with the third and final faze, only exception is filling the balloon with plan air, perhaps from a air compressor. You now have your first controlled mini-environment #2 complete. Once finished you will have your #2nd controlled mini-environment. Place the two controlled mini-environment in (full) sun light, say from 10:00am to 4:00pm. allow it to be exposed to it at least 4 to 6 hours to the suns light heating the controlled mini-environments . Now take off the balloons pour the water from the bottles into the cups. Place in your thermometers in each cup taking the waters temperatures of each controlled environment 1 and 2.

Compare temp read outs… what are the temperatures.. Both read-outs came out to be the same temps…

The only thing I did not add was sea-salt to produce salt water; but I do not think it would change the out-come? just need to confirm out-comes… Repeat results to become conclusive…”

Blessings - and if you do this little experiment, please leave a comment to tell me how your results match up to PHD101’s results!

Posted in General Homeschool | Print | 1 Comment »