Balloon Pop - Not!
Materials
1 balloon
2 pieces of tape, each about 2 inches in length
Small needle or push pin
Directions
Blow up balloon
Use the two pieces of tape to make an “X” on your balloon
Carefully (with parent supervision), push needle through the middle of your “X”
Leave needle in and see how long it takes your balloon to pop
What’s Happening?
What causes a balloon to pop is called catastrophic crack propagation. This complicated phrase means that the hole in the balloon widening is what makes it pop, not the fact that air is slowly being let out. When the balloon’s hole gets bigger, it rips and eventually the balloon pops. In this experiment, the tape slow down this process.
adapted from Science Fun