Tsunami

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of my project was to determine which "release of energy" (balloon exploding- small, medium, or large) would cause the fastest and highest tsunami wave. Methods/Materials Connect air compressor hose to balloon. Sink balloon/hose unit to 8 foot depth of pool. Inflate balloon to size of balloon (3 sizes of balloons were used- small, medium, and large). Use poker to explode balloon. Record time and height of tsunami wave. Repeat 3 times each for each size of balloon. Materials used were air compressor, extension cord, electrical outlet, tape, small, medium, and large balloons, rope, 80 lbs. of bricks, stop watch, and ruler. Results The largest balloon caused the fastest tsunami wave, followed by the medium, and then small. All 3 balloon sizes however, caused the same height of wave. Conclusions/Discussion My conclusion was that the largest balloon size caused the fastest tsunami wave, followed by the medium, and then the small balloon size. This was what I had originally hypothesized. In regards with height of wave, I found that all three balloon sizes were the same. This was not what I had hypothesized. This may have been due to human error (using the human eye to measure on the ruler), and possibly not enough difference in balloon size.

Competition history

• CSEF 2005 Earth Sciences/ Planetary Sciences/ Physical Environments · Entry J0629

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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