Air under Pressure

Explore a compressed gas and a partial vacuum with this air pressure demonstrator.

Standards alignment

Common Standards — cross-referenced to the Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards and the California Content Standards.
Standard	Framework	Grade	Subject	Domain
Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen. [ Examples: adding air to expand a basketball, compressing air in a syringe, dissolving sugar in water, & evaporating salt water.]	Next Generation Science Standards	Grade 5	Physical Science	Matter and its Interactions
Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object & the mass of the object.	Next Generation Science Standards	Middle School	Physical Science	Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, & its acceleration. [Objects subject to a net unbalanced force, e.g., an object falling , rolling down a ramp, or a moving- pulled by a constant force.]	Next Generation Science Standards	High School	Physical Science	Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

California Standards — cross-referenced to the Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards and the California Content Standards.
Standard	Framework	Grade	Subject	Domain
4.e. The Earth’s atmosphere exerts a pressure that decreases with distance above the Earth’s surface, and is the same in all directions.	CA Science	Grade 5	03. Earth Sciences	4. Energy from the sun heats the Earth unevenly, causing air movements resulting in changing weather patterns.
2.c. When the forces on an object are balanced, the motion of the object does not change.	Grade 8	01. Physical Sciences	2. Forces	2. Unbalanced forces cause changes in velocity.
4.h.* How to solve problems using the ideal gas law in the form PV=nRT. (achievement is optional)	Grade 9-12	02. Chemistry	4. Gases and their Properties	4. The Kinetic Molecular theory describes the motion of atoms and molecules and explains the properties of gases.