Activity Overview
Try this quick and easy Science Experiment that demonstrates the concept of zero gravity. This experiment is easy to perform with two supplies that you more than likely have on hand at home, School aged children will marvel at the different between the results of these two speedy trials. This experiment should be done outdoors.
In this experiment, there are two speedy trials. In the first trial, holes are poked in a plastic bottle and then filled with water. Gravity causes the water to pour out of the holes at a steady pace. In the second trial, the same bottle with the holes and water is used, however, the bottle is held high and dropped. When this happens the water and the plastic bottle fall to the earth at the same speed, so the water does not leak out of the bottle.
Materials Needed
- Plastic Bottle
- Pencil with a pointy tip
How to Do It
- Take an empty plastic bottle and use a sharp pencil to poke a hole through each side of the bottle about an inch from the bottom.
- Cover the holes with your fingers and fill the bottle up to the top with water.
- Remove your fingers from the holes and watch as the water pours out of the holes.
- Now cover the holes up again and refill the bottle with water.
- Stand on a chair or a ladder and hold the bottle up high, but not over your head.
- Drop the bottle. The water will not leak out as it plummets to the earth.
