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FAQ

MAKING A BAROMETER - Level 1

EXPERIMENT 14

Equipment:

Glass barometer tube 36" long, closed at one end
Small glass or beaker
colored alcohol
Ring stand with clamp
Cardboard strip, 2" x 10"
Scotch or masking tape
Yardstick

Pour the colored alcohol into the barometer tube, filling it completely. Pour the remaining colored alcohol into a beaker. Place a finger over the open end of the tube and invert the tube, lowering it carefully into the beaker containing the remainder of the colored alcohol. Clamp the tube upright on the stand.

Mark a scale of inches and half inches on the cardboard, and label it from 24 to 36 inches. With the yardstick, measure the actual height of the colored alcohol column and attach the scale to the proper spot on the tube.

Watch the day-to-day variations in the height of the colored alcohol. Record your readings. Compare them with radio and newspaper reports of local barometric pressure conditions.

Determine a scale that will represent both the height of mercury of a regular barometer and the pressure of the air on the fluid.

NOTE: Be very careful that the mercury does not come in

contact with any jewelry you may be wearing.

Funded in part by

From
Raytheon Aviation
Educational Materials

Updated: March 12, 2004