Activity: Liquid nitrogen in action
Colder than the coldest day ever recorded on Earth, this stuff is 196 degrees below zero! Watch as Marie experiments with liquid nitrogen, and see it boil even though it’s cold. What happens when she pours it over a balloon?
Experiment with changing the temperature of gases at home:
- Find a bottle, ideally not too big, and a balloon. Put the balloon over the top of the bottle instead of the lid, to trap the air inside.
- Get two heat-safe containers. Get an adult to carefully pour some freshly boiled water into one of them to around halfway. In the other, put some cold water (you can add a few ice cubes).
- Have your adult immerse your balloon-sealed bottle in the hot water, with the balloon end sticking out, being very careful to not touch the hot water. Hold it there until something happens! What can you see?
When we warm up and cool down gases, they change how much space they take up. Does warming up air make it take up more space or less space? What happens to liquids when you warm them up and cool them down?
