States of Matter Balloon Demonstration
This States of Matter Balloon demonstration doesn’t take a lot of preparation nor materials. It is a great way to bring a touch and feel element to your classroom without breaking the budget. It is the perfect demo to accompany our other States of Matter Printables. You will use 3 balloons. Fill the first balloon up with air to represent a gas. You will fill the next balloons up with liquid water. To create a solid example, put one of the water balloons in the freezer. It will take a full night to freeze. I also suggest not filling the water balloons up to full capacity since you don’t want it to bust on you during your demonstration. Sounds easy, right? The States of Matter Balloon Demonstration is one way to bring hands on science to your class. Be sure to check out our other Science Labs, Demos, and Experiments including our Bean Seed Dissection Lab Sheets.
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How to Implement the States of Matter Balloon Demonstration
Solid Balloon
Once you have all three states of matter balloons ready, talk to your students about how the molecules in each state of matter move and react. It is easy to see that the solid balloon is hard, does not change shape, and has a definite volume. Talk to your kids about how the molecules that make up a solid are aligned in a tight pattern. This causes it to be hard. Some solids are harder than others and this is determined partly by how tightly the molecules are arranged. To demonstrate the properties of a solid, drop the solid balloon on the table or bang it against something. Be sure to talk to your kids too about how the energy level on this state of matter is lowest. Since it has low energy, the molecules main tight barely moving.
Liquid Balloon
The liquid balloon is obviously not like the solid balloon. Its molecules have more energy than the solid but less energy than the gas. You can push on the balloon and the molecules will slip past each other. If you were to slit a hole in the top of the balloon the liquid would pour into a different container taking its shape. It keeps its same volume.
Gas Balloon
The gas balloon is simply filled with air. I let the students hold each of the states of matter balloons if it is a small group. However, beware if dealing with a larger group because there is always one student that will try to pop the balloons rather than feel the difference between the matter inside of them. Be sure to talk to your students about how gas has the most energy and thus, has the most molecule movement. One way to demonstrate that the molecules in a gas spread out is to slit a hole in the balloon and let it go. Very quickly you can see how the molecules have spread out taking no definite shape or volume.
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