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Boyles Law: The Effects of Air Pressure on Marshmallows and Bread

Adrianna Solano Margaret OShaughnessey English 105i Murphey 202 04 February 2014

Emily Morton Ryan Costanzo Forest Koenigsberg Adrianna Solano

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Introduction This experiment is based off of Boyles law, which states that when temperature is constant, volume is inversely proportional to pressure (Walker 1). This means that as pressure decreases, volume increases. An equation used to show this relationship is illustrated as: V1/P1 = V2/P2 (Boyles Law 5). Robert Boyle, in 1662, was able to test this relationship through a certain experiment he conducted. He used a J-shaped tube, which was sealed on one end to trap a fixed amount of air within the tube. Then, different amounts of mercury were added to tube to change the pressure of the system. As Boyle changed the pressure, he was able to measure measured the volume of the gas. He conducted this experiment using constant temperature and, consequently, he was able to clearly see the relationship between volume and pressure (Gas Laws 1-2). One aspect of life in which Boyles Law is incredibly important is scuba diving. As a diver descends through the water, the pressure around him is increased. This means that things such as air in his lungs or air in his ears compresses. The diver has to ascend slowly because when he was descending, his body absorbed nitrogen gas. When As he moves to an area of less pressure that the gas will start to expand and ifexpand. If he ascends too quickly, the now expanding expanded nitrogen gas will form bubbles in his blood leading to decompression sickness (Gibb 10). The purpose of this experiment was to test how marshmallows and bread would react when placed in an environment with low air pressure. We were able to test this by
Comment [LJ3]: Vague- dont use things, it, etc. Comment [LJ2]: I thought it was P1V1=P2V2. If P~k/V where k=constant, and P1V1=constant and P2V2=constant, then P1V1=P2V2. Comment [LJ1]: What is this experiment? Go into that if youre going to use this experiment as an introductory phrase.

Solano 3 using a glass bottle, marshmallows, bread and a vacuum pump (with rubber stopper). We chose marshmallows because they are made up of mostly air and their coating allows for air molecules to stay trapped inside. We also chose bread because it is also a porous material that also has air pockets. Our group predicted, according to Boyles Law, the volume of the marshmallows would increase asnd the air pressure decreased. We also predicted that when we allowed air back into the bottle, the marshmallows would shrivel because of the drastic increase of air pressure. On the other hand, we did not think the bread would be affected in the same way as the marshmallows due to its make upmake-up and lack of a way to trap air bubbles like marshmallows. Methods The original experiment was carried out on January 27, 2014 at 10:00 am in Murphey Hall 202. The participants in the experiment were Ryan Costanzo, Emily Morton, Forest Koenigsberg, and Adrianna Solano. A follow up experiment was completed in the same location, at the same time on February 3, 2014. In the first experiment, we did not have a complete seal, so on February 3, we added a rubber stopper to help with this problem. To test the effects of air pressure on volume we dropped our variable through the opening of the wine bottle. These variables included different amounts of mini and large marshmallows and bread. Some variables had to be manipulated (rolled large marshmallow or torn piece of bread) to fit through the opening. After our variable was placed in the bottle, the vacuum pump was placed as tightly as possible over the opening and then was pumped approximately twenty 20 times to reduce air pressure.
Comment [LJ6]: Include this information, but put it in a sentence without the parentheses. Comment [LJ5]: Do you need to include this information if its on your title page? Comment [LJ4]: Why do these characteristics make bread/marshmallows good variables?

Solano 4 After each trial with different variables was tested, our observations were recorded. We could not make calculate? Need a better word here. quantitative data so we compared the variables used in the bottle with unused variablesa control outside the bottle. On February 3, 2014, we were able to capture, we captured results using an iPhone camera (Figure 1,2,3). Results In the original experiment that took place on January 27, 2014, we learned early on that our vacuum pump did not correctly fit the wine bottle. The fit was not very secure and with every pump, air could be heard rushing back into the bottle. Because of this, when the marshmallows were in the bottle, they pulsed with every pump of the vacuum. The first pump allowed the marshmallows to grow, because for half a second, the pressure was lower. As the pump fought against the rushing air, the marshmallow continued to inflate and deflate, resulting in a pulse. As predicted, the bread did not change in shape or size when the pump was pumped. TheOur follow-up experiment on February 3, 2014 was completed using a rubber stopper. This fixed the broken seal issue that stemmed from solely using the vacuum pump. Since there was now a proper seal, air was not able to rush back into the bottle until the stopper was removed. When the vacuum was pumped, the marshmallows grew significantly larger (Figure 2) and stayed that way until the seal was broken. As soon as the rubber stopper was removed, air pressure increased and the marshmallows shrunk substantially (Figure 3). The following table illustrates all trials and observations from the original experiment.
Comment [LJ8]: Why is there not data for the Feb. trial? Comment [LJ7]: Should this be in the discussion?

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Table 1 CAPTION Variable Tested Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Trial 6 Trial 7 1 miniature marshmallow 5 miniature marshmallows 10 miniature marshmallows Approx. 1 sq. inch of wheat bread 1 large marshmallow 1 large marshmallow 5 large marshmallows Observation Pulsed as vacuum is pumped. Pulsed as vacuum is pumped. Pulsed as vacuum is pumped. No changed occurred. Marshmallow got stuck at the top of wine bottle. Pulsed as vacuum is pumped. Pulsed as vacuum is pumped.

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Figure 1This goes below, with the caption.

Figure 1. Marshmallows placed in wine bottle before vacuum pump was used.

Figure 2

Solano 7 Figure 2. After the vacuum pump was used, and air pressure decreased, the marshmallows grew significantly larger. Figure 3
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Figure 3. After the rubber stopper was removed, air pressure increased, causing the marshmallows to shrink. Discussion In our original experiment on January 27, we were not able to achieve the results we were hoping for. This is because there was not a good seal between the vacuum pump and the wine bottle. Since there was a tiny seal, when the vacuum was first pumped, the marshmallow would increase a tiny bit, but the air rushing back in (which was clearly audible) caused the marshmallow to revert to its normal size. With every pump, the marshmallow pulsed ever so slightly. Bread, being a porous substance, had us wondering if it, too, might increase under the effect of lower air pressure. This proved not to be the case, which was interesting. The reason bread did not grow under the new pressure is because it does not have the

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Comment [LJ9]: Relate this to your hypothesis. What results did you think you were going to get and how does this differ?

Comment [LJ10]: A lot of commas- reword so you dont have to use so many.

Solano 8 same sugary coating that marshmallows do to help trap the air bubbles inside. No trapped air bubbles means that the bread cannot properly expand. The follow-up experiment on February 3 produced the results we were originally expecting. The robber stopper completed the seal between the vacuum pump and the bottle, keeping air from rushing back into the bottle. The air pressure was able to remain low until the stopper was removed so that marshmallows were also able to remain larger under the new conditions. When the rubber stopper was removed, air quickly rushed back into the bottle, causing a sudden increase in air pressure, which made the marshmallows shrink incredibly. This experiment was successful and supported our hypothesis. As a group, we decided that another variable that would be good to test would be shaving cream since it, too, is composed mostly of air, but has a high enough surface tension to trap air bubbles inside. Reference other applications of Boyles Law again? Conclusion?
Formatted: Font: Bold Formatted: Indent: First line: 0" Comment [LJ12]: How did this experiment support your hypothesis? Be more specific. Comment [LJ11]: What are these expected results?

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Works Cited Blauch, David N. "Boyle's Law." Gas Laws. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. Boyles Law." HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. Gibb, Natalie. "Boyle's Law and Scuba Diving." About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.