Air Pressure, It's in the Bag

In this activity, students will

1. create a change in pressure that allows them to experience the force of atmospheric pressure (shrink-wrapping);
2. create a model that explains this phenomenon;
3. receive comments and questions about their model to co-construct and revise their ideas to help them better understand this phenomenon.

Note: Adult supervision strongly suggested.

1. Show the materials to the class and explain that they will be exploring the concept of pressure in this activity.
   
2. Ask for two volunteers: the first volunteer will sit inside the trash bag and the second volunteer will help to create the vacuum inside the bag.
   
3. Have the first volunteer kneel or sit cross-legged inside the trash bag. Have the other volunteer help to bring the bag over their shoulders. The bag should come up to their neck, but not be tight around the neck. DO NOT COVER HEAD WITH GARBAGE BAG. The teacher should operate the vacuum cleaner.
   
4. Instruct the volunteer inside the bag to hold the hose of the vacuum cleaner inside the bag, pointed away from their body, and to cup their hands around the vacuum-cleaner hose so the bag or their clothes don't get sucked into the hose.
   
5. Count down from 5 and turn on the vacuum cleaner.
   
6. Observe the shrink-wrap process.
   • Quick Tip: if the bag doesn't tightly shrink-wrap to the person inside the bag, have the second volunteer make sure that the opening of the bag is closed around the person's body and that air is only moving through the vacuum cleaner hose, unobstructed by the bag or clothing. Students should feel a tight squeeze from the bag, but if they are uncomfortable, you can turn off the vacuum and the bag will immediately stop squeezing.
     
7. Have as many students as possible experience the shrink-wrap process by sitting inside the bag.
   
8. Once students have experienced or observed the shrink-wrap process, have them spend five minutes drawing a conceptual model that explains what they observed.
   • Students should draw two pictures: the first should depict what's happening before the vacuum cleaner gets turned on, and the second should show what's happening after the vacuum cleaner is on and their body is shrink-wrapped.
   • Encourage students to include labels, arrows or anything else that helps them illustrate what they observed.
     
9. Have students partner up to discuss their conceptual models. Students should ask questions about their partner's model and have a chance to respond to their partner's questions. After discussing, give students time to revise their models and incorporate any new ideas that came from the discussion.
   
10. After revising their models this first time, instruct students to display their drawings on their desks for a gallery walk. The purpose of the gallery walk is for the whole class to see all of the models, ask questions and provide feedback. To do this, distribute two colors of sticky notes:
    • Color 1 = questions or clarifications about the model
    • Color 2 = positive comments or agreement about the model
      
11. Students should circulate through the classroom and comment on the models using the colored sticky notes.
    
12. Have students return to their seats and read their notes. Give students a final chance to revise their models based on their peers' comments or questions.
    
13. Conclude the activity by leading a class discussion to explain the science of the shrink-wrap activity. To do this, you can draw a scientifically accurate model on the board. This is also the chance to address any misconceptions about what's causing the bag to shrink-wrap. Some other guiding questions for the whole class discussion might include the following:
    • Using a similar setup, what other ideas for experiments do students have?
    • How is this activity related to the pressure change that a fish might feel when coming up from the "twilight zone"?
      

The items listed below indicate how the activities supports the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards:

Science & Engineering Practices

• Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 6-8 builds on K-5 experiences and progresses to include constructing explanations and designing solutions supported by multiple sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories.
    • Apply scientific ideas or principles to design an object, tool, process or system.
  • Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories.
• Developing and Using Models
  • Modeling in 6-8 builds on K-5 and progresses to developing, using and revising models to describe, test, and predict more abstract phenomena and design systems.
    • Develop a model to predict and/or describe phenomena. (MS-PS1-1), (MS-PS1-4)
  • Modeling in 9-12 builds on K-8 and progresses to using, synthesizing, and developing models to predict and show relationships among variables between systems and their components in the natural and designed worlds

Disciplinary Content Ideas

• PS2.A: Forces and Motion
• PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
• PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces

Crosscutting Concepts

• Systems and System Models
  • Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy and matter flows within systems.
  • When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined.
• Cause and Effect
  • Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

Related Performance Expectations

Remember, performance expectations are not a set of instructional or assessment tasks. They are statements of what students should be able to do after instruction. This activity or unit is just one of many that could help prepare your students to perform the following hypothetical tasks that demonstrate their understanding:

MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.