Using A Balloon To Measure Vital Capacity Worksheet printable pdf download

Using A Balloon To Measure Vital Capacity Worksheet

Name: _______________________

USING A BALLOON TO MEASURE VITAL CAPACITY

PURPOSE: To measure your vital capacity using a balloon.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Vital capacity is measured in liters (l), milliliters (mL) and cubic centimeters (cm

). One mL = one cm

Blow up the balloon several times to stretch it thoroughly.

Take a deep breath and blow up the balloon as much as you can with ONE

BREATH. Hold the opening of the balloon closed with your fingers.

Use the string and ruler to measure the circumference (the distance around) the

biggest part of the balloon. Repeat this for a total of 5 trials and record your

results for each trial in Table 1.

Calculate the average circumference of the balloon and record it in Table 1.

Determine the volume of the air in the balloon using these 3 steps and record

the numbers in Table 2.

(a) Calculate the diameter of the balloon = average circumference ÷ Pi (3.14)

(b) Calculate the radius of the balloon = diameter ÷ 2

OBSERVATIONS:

TABLE 1

CIRCUMFERENCE OF BALLOON IN CENTIMETRES

Trial

Average

Circumference

TABLE 2

Diameter of

Radius of Balloon

Volume of Sphere

Volume of Air

Balloon (cm)

(cm)

(mL or cm

)

(L)

The volume you have calculated is your Experimental Vital Capacity. Your Actual

Vital Capacity is the amount of air you should be able to hold considering your height

and age.

To determine your Actual Vital Capacity:

(a) Measure your height in centimeters: ______

(b) Actual Vital Capacity = 0.041 X height in cm – 0.018 X age – 2.69 = _____

Using A Balloon To Measure Vital Capacity Worksheet