Video: Ping Pong Ball Demonstration for Bernoulli's Experiment

How to use a ping pong ball and plastic bottle to perform the Bernoulli's theorem science experiment for kids in this free home science video

Video Transcript

Hi! I'm Scott Thompson from expertvillage.com and today I am going to demonstrate Bernoulli's theorem using a soda bottle and a ping pong ball. The next thing to do is to take a ping pong ball and make a big deal with the students about how light weight the ball is, how you can blow the ball back and forth; how just your breath can get that ball moving. You can blow it right out of their hand, right onto the floor. That is to get them thinking about air pressure; that it can do work. Then for extra fun, because you know about how this works and they perhaps don't, you can bet them a dollar, or fifty cents, or five dollars that no student can blow that ping pong ball out of this cup. And it really is impossible; but again, it's new to them, so they don't know it. They just remember how light the ball is. Put it in the cup and have maybe the biggest, strongest student come up and try to blow. I'll try it right here. And that's pretty much as far as you'll see that ball ever leave that cup. That just frustrates the students, because they again remember how light the ball is. If you choose to just use a few of these cups for a whole class of students that want to come up and try this, I've had some wet naps, some kind of antiseptic naps that you can wipe off so they can all try it. Otherwise you spread some germs around. But that's how it works; it's impossible for you to blow out.

Ping Pong Ball Demonstration for Bernoulli's Experiment

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