EXPERIMENT: MASS OF GAS
Here is your goal for this lesson:

Write a report on the mass of gas

We often do not think of gas in terms of having mass. The atmosphere is something we live in and breathe. In this experiment, we will investigate whether gas does truly have mass.

Hypothesis: If gas does indeed have mass, then different volumes of it will have a different mass. This could be demonstrated by using a simple balance and comparing the two different volumes, captured by means of balloons.

Materials needed:

two balloons of the same size
meter stick
string
paper clips

Procedure:

1. Suspend the meter stick from the middle in such a way as to be able to move the string to balance. See the diagram below.



2. Attach each balloon to either end of the meter stick, making the apparatus balance.
3. Blow up each balloon to different volumes, thus measuring out different volumes of gas.
4. Attach the balloons as shown in the diagram below using the paper clips. Be careful to attach the balloons in the same place as where the apparatus balanced.



5. Answer the following questions in the writing space provided in this assignment.

Did the suspended balloons balance?
If they did not, which balloon tipped the scale down?
Did your results validate the hypothesis?
Give an explanation for your results, including a discussion of how the data collected either validated, or disproved the hypothesis.