$23

weekly

or $45 for 2 classes

Balloons, Gases and Hand's on Fun

New class

Ages 8-12

Live Group Class

In this 2 week class we will explore gases (helium, air, hydrogen and carbon dioxide) and their properties. Doing this in ways that are all about fun where the learning is almost by accident instead of design.

Clifton Draper, PhD, Author, Inventor . Educator

Average rating:

5.0

Number of reviews:

(1 reviews)

Live video meetings

1x per week, 2 weeks

2-4 learners per class

60 min

About Learning Overview Teacher Reviews

What's included

2 live meetings

2 in-class hours

Assessment

included

Grading

included

Class Experience

US Grade 3 - 6

Beginner - Intermediate Level

Learners will be guided through what makes gases different from liquids and solids. Demonstration-rich instruction that aim to educate while having fun. We will make carbon dioxide and each learner will be encouraged to have the necessary materials to follow along during that class.  Nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and helium will be the focus of demonstrations and discussion. As the course title suggests we will compute how many helium balloons would be needed to "float away."

Learning Goals

Students will both watch and participate in. They will come to appreciate just how much gas balloons hold compared to their own lungs. They will laugh when they hear how voices change when the "air" passing through vocal cords has its air density modified. They will witness a miniature Hindenburg disaster.

Syllabus

Curriculum

Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum

Standards

Aligned with State-Specific Standards

2 Lessons

over 2 Weeks

Lesson 1:

I have a dream

 daydreaming about being carried away by a myriad of helium balloons. Sets the stage for gases, balloons, properties. Featured gas helium. measurement ways for gases contained in balloons.

60 mins online live lesson

Lesson 2:

A well planned and executed chemical reaction

 The mixing of baking soda and vinegar to make carbon dioxide. Comparison of heavy CO2 to light He to normal air. Exo and Endo thermal reactions.

60 mins online live lesson

Other Details

Parental Guidance

Learners will be guided through the use of vinegar and baking soda to produce and capture the carbon dioxide gas in a balloon attached to a plastic water bottle. Because the gas-filled balloon is under pressure the seal of the balloon to the water bottle opening needs to be secure. Leaky seals can result in spraying of vinegar and baking soda into the immediate area. If parent or learner would like a web-based preview visit link mentioned below. in external resources. The use of baking soda and vinegar to fill balloons or simulate a volcanic eruption are widely posted; especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) web-based site.

Supply List

learners will follow along as make carbon dioxide gas trapped inside a balloon from the reaction of vinegar and baking soda. Having the necessary supplies is not a requirement, but a learner will feel left out if others are doing and they are left to watch only. Learners will need a small box of baking soda, a quart size bottle of distilled or white vinegar, a funnel, an empty plastic water bottle (16 oz size) , half a dozen balloons typical of what might be used at a birthday party.

1 file available upon enrollment

External Resources

In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:

Mallard Creek STEM Academy

Sources

The children's book titled "Too Many Balloons" authored by Catherine Matthias will be used in the class to illustrate student imagination about being lifted off the ground by party balloons filled with helium. Learners may be pointed toward historical gas-based disasters; for example the news reels covering the Hindenburg disaster. In this way parents can determine themselves if real-life disasters involving gases are age appropriate for their child.

Meet the teacher

Clifton Draper, PhD, Author, Inventor . Educator

Joined April, 2024

5.0

1reviews

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

2 Teaching Certificates

Virginia Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education

New Jersey Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education

Clifton Draper has a PhD in physical chemistry and after retiring early from Bell Labs he followed his dream of teaching elementary school science and math in New Jersey. As an elementary school science specialist he taught EVERY child in the school grades K - 6 twice weekly. He was selected by his peers for recognition in teaching excellence for the Governor's Award in 2007.  More importantly he was often accused by the older students, parents, teachers and administration of being a "game show host" as much as a teacher.