I wanted to discover how many marbles a helium balloon could lift. I proceeded by talking to my mom and making a plan. We decided to visit Balloonatic, a local company that sells helium balloons. Lorie Lange, the owner, asked me what size I wanted. I hadn't thought about size, but she told me there were many different sizes from 5 inches all the way to 5 feet (in diameter). I told her I wanted the normal size which she told me was 12 inches. My mom and I told Lorie about the project we were doing and she suggested 16 inch balloons. She said they lift better. We were able to talk about many different variables that effect the lift of helium balloons such as: color, size, time of day, temperature, altitude, the material the balloon is made of etc. She gave us a helpful chart that has all the different balloons and how much each will lift according to factory specifications. I never knew so much thought went into making helium balloons that will lift and float. I decided that I could do many science projects with all the information I had, so I had to keep my focus narrow. We ended up buying three 16 inch latex helium filled balloons. We didn't put the float goop in them that makes them float longer because Lorie told us it weighs the balloons down and they don't lift as much. She also suggested that we buy one each of orange, yellow, and white. She told us those colors do the best in the hot temperature and altitude of Moab. That's what we bought. I narrowed my project down to the question of how many marbles could a 16 inch latex helium balloon lift? I was ready to go to work.
Hypothesis.
My hypothesis was that a 16 inch latex balloon filled with helium will lift 4 marbles on average. I didn't really have a basis for my guess, it just seemed about right when I held the marbles in my hand and thought about the balloon lifting them up.
Materials.
I used the following materials:.
