Hooked on science: Huff 'n' puff science trick

Can you blow a piece of paper into a bottle? It sounds easy, but don't under estimate of power of air pressure.

Materials

* Small-neck bottle

* Piece of paper

Instructions

STEP 1: Tear a small piece off the paper.

STEP 2: Crumple the small piece of paper into a wad.

STEP 3: Place the bottle on its side.

STEP 4: Put the crumpled piece of paper loosely into the neck of the bottle. Make sure the wad of paper is close to the opening.

STEP 5: Attempt to blow the paper wad into the bottle.

Explanation

The wad of paper blows out and not into the bottle because of air pressure. As the air from your mouth pushes past the wad of paper and hits the bottom of the bottle, the air pressure increases. As the air pressure increase inside the bottle, the wad of paper is forced out of the neck of the bottle.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.