AIR: What it’s all about

What is AIR?

• Air is a combination of gases– Nitrogen (78%)– Oxygen (20%)– and a small quantity of other gases including:• Argon• Xenon• Hydrogen• Carbon dioxide

Air is Colorless

• Air has no color to it. • If you see color in the sky or in air, it is do to

pollution that is in the air. The color you see is the color of the pollution that we are seeing, not the color of the air.

The pollution in the air is gray, not the air itself.

Air is Odorless

• Air has no odor to it. • If you smell an odor in the air, it is do to

pollution that is in the air.

Air is Essential to Life on Earth

• Since we breath oxygen gas, we would not be able to live on earth without the oxygen that is found in the air.

Air has Mass

• Remember our experiment with the two balloons that were balanced on the meter stick.

Air has Volume

• Remember our experiment blowing up the balloon under the books, or the experiment where we pulled a plastic bag through the air.

Air has Pressure

• Think of the air in a bike tire, or using a pneumatic hammer; in these instances, air is compressed and exerts pressure.

• Remember when you blew up the balloon underneath the books: this not only showed that air has volume, but that air exerted pressure on the books.