Hot Air Balloons Lesson A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines.



Title Hot Air Balloons Lesson
Description Lesson Objectives: 1. Students will be able to describe how hot air balloons rise and determine the conditions necessary to keep a balloon afloat by using a computer simulation. 2. Students will be able to explain the principle that warm air expands when heated and how heat is transferred through convection. 3. Students will be able to construct and launch a hot air balloon. 4. Students will be able to generalize the relationship between temperature, volume and pressure. Standards: TEKS Science: 6.2E, 6.3A-C, 6.9A-B CCRS Science Standards: VII-I1, VIII-A2, VIII-A4, VIII-F1, VIII-F3 **Note:** The .doc version includes additional teacher resources, such as, background content, common misconceptions and a vocabulary list. It also has all worksheets as editable content.
Subject Chemistry
Level Middle School
Type Lab
Duration 120 minutes
Answers Included Yes
Language English
Keywords buoyancy, convection, hot air balloons
Simulation(s) Balloons & Buoyancy

Author(s) UTeach Middle School PhET Team
Contact Email elyse.zimmer@gmail.com
School / Organization UTeach UT-Austin
Date submitted 7/25/12
Date updated 7/25/12