To investigate air and its properties. Equipment sheet of newspaper ruler Safety Keep back from the table and well away from the path of a catapulted ruler. Procedure Place a wooden ruler or flat stick on a bench top with about a quarter of its length overhanging. Rescue the ruler and replace it in the same position on the bench top, this time with a sheet of newspaper covering the non-overhanging part of the ruler.
Questions Answer the following questions in the spaces provided.
Explanation Air is all around us pushing on everything. It pushes on our skin and on the bench top. The ruler has a relatively small surface area, so the air pushing down on top of it is not enough to hold it in place when you hit it. The newspaper has a large surface area. The force of the air acts over the whole area.