Finding fun experiments for your homeschool science curriculum doesn’t require that you spend a lot of money – or even a lot of time. This quick and easy project makes any homeschool science curriculum more enjoyable and may help you to understand a little more about some of the important basics that you are covering in you science class. Plus, it’s super-easy!

To get started with this project, you’ll need a few basic materials:
    •    Two balloons
    •    A few matches
    •    Water

Once you’ve gathered these materials together, you’re all set to begin with the experiment. Follow these steps:
    •    Blow up one of the balloons. Tie it shut.
    •    Put about ¼ cup of water in the other balloon before inflating it and tying it shut.
    •    Light a match.
    •    Hold the burning match under the first balloon (the one without water). Let the flame from the match touch the balloon.
    •    Observe and record your observations.
    •    Light another match and hold it under the second balloon. Let the flame touch the balloon.

    •    Record your observations.

What you observed:
When you lit the match and held it against the first balloon, you probably saw that the balloon burst rather quickly. However, when you held the match against the second balloon, you probably noticed that the balloon didn’t break. Instead, you may have noticed that a small circle of soot formed underneath the water on the outside of the balloon above the flame.

But why?
The flame from the match naturally heats whatever object is placed within the flame. When the flame touches the balloon, the flame heats the rubber. The first balloon burst because the rubber became so hot that is became weak and could no longer hold up against the air pressure from the inside of the balloon.

However, when you held the flame against the second balloon, the water absorbed much of the heat coming from the flame. When the water absorbed the heat, the rubber from the balloon was not able to get hot enough to become weak. As a result, the rubber did not break, as it did with the first balloon.

You noticed first-hand that water helps to absorb heat. In fact, it takes a good deal of heat to actually change the temperature of water – ten times as much heat to raise the temperature of just one gram of water by one degree Celsius as it takes to raise the temperature of the same amount of iron.  Pretty cool project for a homeschool science curriculum, huh?

By the way, you might want to download a free copy of the Homeschool Science Experiment Guide and workbook to find more great experiments.

How can you apply this knowledge in everyday life?
What good is a science experiment if you can’t apply what you’ve learned? You can learn a lot from this experiment. For one, you now know why it takes so long to boil water on a stove. This experiment should also help you to understand why it’s always slightly warmer in the winter if you live near large bodies of water than if you lived inland (because it also takes longer for water to cool).

Can you think of where else you can apply this new knowledge in your everyday life?