By: Angela Bibbins & Erin Roth
You really can make a plastic bottle collapse without touching it! The air does the job for you. You cannot feel air, but it presses against every surface. This is called “air pressure.”
To do this experiment you will need the following items:
1.A bag of ice
2.A funnel
3.A cup for hot and cold water
4.A plastic soft drink bottle
5.A bowl
1st Step: Stand the bottle upright in the bowl and fill it about half full with hot water. Leave the lid off for a short amount of time.
2nd Step: Screw the top on the bottle and lay the bottle down inside of the bowl.
3rd Step: Pour ice and cold water over the bottle.
4th Step: Stand the bottle up and watch it collapse!
5th Step: As the warm air inside the bottle cools, it exerts less pressure. The pressure of the air outside is stronger and crushes the bottle.
The science behind air compression
Extended Resources:
2. Ask an expert(Newton)
3. Some of the physics(Ask a scientist)
