Introduction

In my years of education I have seen many discrepant events. The one thing
that each one had in common was that they captured and help my attention
until I understood the reason for the seemingly discrepant behavior of the
situation. The best discrepant even that I have ever seen is the one I present
here in this paper called the backwards balloon. It is simplistic - but
complex. It is extremely counterintuitive. I have asked dozens of people to
predict the behavior of the balloon in this discrepant event, and so far only
one person was able to answer correctly. e even explained the reasoning
!uite well" #ery few people are as insightful as this person, so I wish anyone
success and en$oyment using this activity in the future. It%s not difficult to
prepare and lots of fun for students to observe.
&s with other discrepant events, the backwards balloon causes the viewer to
feel somewhat unsettled with what they see. They expect the balloon to react
one way, but, in fact, it reacts another way. &ccording to 'iaget%s theory of
cognitive development, the viewer enters a state of dise!uilibrium, because
s(he can not reconcile with what the demonstration has shown. )ssentially,
dise!uilibrium occurs whenever we see something that goes against what we
feel is certain to happen. In a way, this is similar to magic, because the result
is surprising. The difference between magic and discrepant events is that,
magic is expected to be surprising, but students do not expect a
demonstration to turn out to be discrepant.
Materials Required
&ll that is needed to demonstrate this discrepant event is one large box, one
small to medium sized helium filled balloon on a string, and a thin plastic
sheet *plastic food wrap will do+. ,cissors will be needed to cut the box, and
tape will be needed to tape the box together. &s you can see, it is a rather
simple experiment to prepare. I explain in detail in the description and
explanation section how to make the apparatus and how it all works.
Curriculum Connection
The science involved in this experiment can be applied to several different
topics in high school science. This discrepant event would effectively
compliment the following topics from the -anitoba .urriculum framework
of /utcomes0 ,enior 1 ,cience0
,1-2-110 Investigate properties of substances and
explain the importance of knowing these properties.
-ichael ebb
,tudents are likely well aware that helium gas is used to fill balloons. 3ut
they may not understand why balloons appose the )arth%s gravity. This
demonstration clearly shows why balloons float and why they move to
the front of an accelerating frame *because the more dense substances in
air are more strongly attracted by gravity and by the force of acceleration
in the box+.
,enior 1 .luster 40 )xploring the 5niverse
,tudents will likely become aware that many planets are made primarily
of solid material and stars are made of gases. It would be informative for
students to realize that on the sun, the balloon *assuming it didn%t burn+
would actually sink towards to centre of the sun, because the helium gas
inside the balloon is more dense than the predominantly hydrogen and
helium mixture which makes up the sun%s atmosphere. This would help
the students realize the vast difference between primarily solid planets
and stars.
The discrepant event being discussed here would also nicely improve the
effectiveness of teaching the flowing topic from the -anitoba .urriculum
framework of /utcomes0 ,enior 2 ,cience0
,2-4-610 Illustrate the composition and organization of
the hydrosphere and the atmosphere.
,tudents will learn in this topic about the composition of the atmosphere0
nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases. The backwards balloon
demonstration will help them understand about gas density. The balloon
floating and the balloon going to the front of an accelerated frame show
the students that the more dense molecules in the air and more strongly
affected by the forces *gravity and that due to acceleration+ and the
balloon is forced in the opposite direction of the force because the
molecules in the balloon are less dense.
/ne of the general learning outcomes from the -anitoba .urriculum
7ramework of /utcomes0 ,enior 1 and ,enior 2 states that students
understand the composition of the earth%s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and
lithosphere, as well as the processes involved within and among them. The
ideas that come out of the backwards balloon discrepant event namely how
the relative densities of different gasses control which ones float and which
ones sink provides a clear example of why the )arth%s atmosphere has
different properties and different densities at different altitudes and hence
why it is divided into different sections when studied. &s such, this
discrepant event can be used as a theme while studying atmospheres in
8eather 9ynamics and )xploring the 5niverse to be returned to periodically
to help demonstrate this property of gases.
There are more topics of where the backwards balloon matches well with
specific learning outcomes and general learning outcomes in high school
-ichael ebb
science courses. ,enior : and senior 4 chemistry and physics allow some
opportunities for use of such a demonstration. 7or example, in 'hysics 46,0
,pecific ;earning /utcome 2.1.2. This topic introduces <ewton%s law of
universal gravitation and calls for several problems using it. ,tudents can see
first hand that in a gravitation field or in an accelerated frame, the helium
molecules are attracted more weakly than are the more massive molecules of
the atmosphere. It is unfortunate that currently there is no place for modern
physics in high school science. I do hope that this will change in the future,
because the backwards balloon discrepant event is a great way to demonstrate
)instein%s e!uivalency principal of general relativity. This principal states
that there is no physical experiment that can be conducted to determine
whether the experimenter is in a gravitational field *like on earth+ or in a
uniformly accelerating frame *like a space ship accelerating in free space+.
Description and
Explanation
The materials re!uired to make
the apparatus were listed in the
materials re!uired section,
above. To construct the
apparatus, cut out the largest
side of the box. Tie the string
connected to a helium filled
balloon to the bottom of the box
in the center of the bottom. *The
cut-out side must be vertical.+
'revent the balloon from
touching the top of the box.
&llow at least =cm of space.
8ith the balloon firmly
connected to the box bottom by the string, cover the open portion of the box
with the plastic wrap. The purpose of the plastic wrap is to prevent the air
outside of the box from affecting the motion of the balloon when the box
moves.
There are no ma$or safety considerations for this activity, beyond using
scissors, and avoiding cardboard cuts. .ommon sense is all that is needed
here.
The procedure for the backwards balloon discrepant event is also straight
forward. The '/) model should be followed0
-ichael ebb
Predict:
&sk students what they think will happen when the box is accelerated
to the right. There is a very high probability that all students will expect
the balloon to move to the left of the box when the box is accelerated.
Observe:
&ccelerate the box as uniformly as possible to the right. 5niform
acceleration means that the box should speed up at a constant rate. The
students will observe the balloon moving to the right inside the box
contrary to their assumption.
Explain:
Inside the box, there are two groups
of molecules0 <2, /2, and others in
the air and e2 in the balloon. <2,
/2 and other molecules in the air
are more massive than e2 in the
balloon. ,o the air is more dense
than the e2 gas in the balloon.
8hen the box is not being
accelerated *a>6+, the more massive
molecules sink to the bottom of the
box in the direction of the gravity
field. The less massive molecules in
the balloon are then pushed
upwards.
8hen the box is being
accelerated to the right *a?6+,
the more massive molecules
move in the direction of the
force fields *down to the left+.
The less massive molecules in
the balloon are then pushed in
the opposite direction *up to the
right+. <ote that, when the box
is accelerated to the right, the
force felt inside the box is down
to the right.
There is another explanation for
the balloon%s behavior. It can be
mentioned to students, but the topic actually doesn%t currently appear in
the high school science curricula. The second explanation comes from
)instein%s theory of general relativity. The principle of e!uivalence
from this theory states that @observations made in a AuniformlyB
-ichael ebb
accelerated reference frame are indistinguishable from observations
made in a <ewtonian gravitational fieldC *ewitt, p. =D6+. This
principle, )instein stated, is true for all natural phenomena. There is a
very interesting possible application of this for space stations. If a
circular space station can be made to revolve at $ust the right constant
rate, then the centrifugal acceleration that results from the circular
motion can match the acceleration due to gravity on )arth exactly. This
is where the term artificial gravity comes from.
Creating Disequilibrium
,tudents all have experience with acceleration. They all know that when a car
accelerates, their bodies move towards the back of the car. 8hen they are on
a bus and the bus turns left, they feel their bodies move to the right. 8hen the
bus slows down, they feel their bodies move towards the front of the bus. In
fact, students experience these types of events so fre!uently that they are as
natural to them as breathing. They have also all had the experience of holding
a helium filled balloon. They know that the balloon pulls upwards. If they let
go of the balloon, then it will rise up into the sky and they will lose it.
8hen asking the students to predict what will happen when the box is moved
to the right, it is natural for them to say that the balloon will move towards
the left side of the box. This is what they experience everyday with ob$ects
other than helium filled balloons. If their prediction was correct, then the
result would be satisfying to the students and e!uilibrium would exist. 3ut
when the balloon moves the opposite way, the result is not satisfying and the
students become uncomfortable. In this way, students enter a state of
dise!uilibrium. ,tudents are not able to assimilate what they have $ust seen
into any of their existing schemes and so they are forced to either disbelieve
what they have seen or they must accommodate the new information by
changing an existing scheme. ,tudents change their thinking and go through
a process of e!uilibration in accepting the new information according to
'iaget%s theory of cognitive development.
Conclusion
9iscrepant events are fun for all who see them. They are also disturbing to
our understanding of the world around us. 8hen students view a discrepant
event, they enter a state of dise!uilibrium because they have witnessed
something that, to them, defies common sense. In the e!uilibration process of
gaining understanding and acceptance, learning occurs. 9iscrepant events are
more than $ust fun they are very useful as teaching aids.
-ichael ebb
Bibliography
ewitt, 'aul E., @.onceptual 'hysicsC, F
th
)dition. &ddison 8esley, /ntario, 1GGF.
-ichael ebb