Results ( charges)

Research question: Does the amount of charges affecet the degree of ;bend; of the water? 

Hypothesis : The higher the charges on the balloon, the larger the degree of 'bend' of the water.

Materials : balloon, balloon pump, metronome, woolen jacket, ruler, online protractor tool, scale, distance scale, ruler, camera distance scale 

Variables : 

Independent : Degree of 'bend' of water

Dependent : number of times balloon is rubbed against woolen jacket

Constant : speed of metronome,  Size of the stream of water, size of the balloon,  material of the balloon, amount of air pumped into the balloon, distance between the balloon and the stream of water, 

Procedure :

1. Make a scale and place it behind the water faucet (Ensure that the stream of water is flowing straight along the line drawn on the scale)

2. Place a small distance scale on top of the tap to roughly estimate the distance 

3. Use the balloon pump to pump up the balloon (about 10 pumps)

4. Rub the balloon against the woolen jacket (about 25 times)

5. Use a metronome to ensure constant speed (150 BPM) 

6. On the water faucet

7. Place the balloon near the faucet (about 1cm)

8. Take a video of the process

9. Repeat steps 3-8 again by rubbing the balloon against the woolen jacket for 50, 75 and 100 times respectively

10. Repeat the experiment again for another two times

11. Use the online protractor tool to measure the degree of the 'bend' in the stream of water

12. Tabulate the results for easy reference

Results:

Degree of ‘bend’ of the stream of water
Number of charges	1st attempt	2nd attempt	3rd attempt	Average
25 times	3.36°	4.02°	3.08°	3.49°
50 times	5.79°	5.11°	3.05°	4.65°
75 times	6.06°	5.68°	4.03°	5.26°
100 times	7.05°	6.69°	8.10°	7.28°

Table 1 shows how the number of charges affects the degree of ‘bend’ of the stream of water

Figure 2: shows the difference in the degree of ‘bend’ when the balloon is rubbed 25 times, 50 times, 75 times and 100 times against hair respectively.

Charges experiment: Data analysis 

Original hypothesis: The higher the amount of charges on the balloon, the larger the degree of 'bend' of the water.

From the background research conducted, it is proven by the electric field concept that the charges affect the electric force field. All charged objects create an electric field that extends outward into the space that surrounds it. The charge alters that space, causing any other charged object that enters the space to be affected by this field. The strength of the electric field is dependent upon the amount of charges present in the charged object. The strength of the electric force field, in turn affects the degree of ‘bend’ of the stream of water. To prove this hypothesis, this experiment is conducted.

By collecting the data of the results, the hypothesis can be proven. From figure 2 in the results column, it shows the average of the degree of ‘bend’ of the stream of water when the balloon is rubbed against the hair for 4 different numbers of times as an up-sloping graph. The water ‘bends’ at an average angle of 3.49° when balloon is rubbed 25 times against the hair and at an average angle of 7.28° when balloon is rubbed 100 times against the hair. There is an obvious increase when balloon was rubbed against the hair for 25time, 50times, 75 times and 100 times respectively. A simple interpretation of the graph would be that as the amount of charges on the balloon increase, the degree of ‘bend’ of the water also increases, proving the hypothesis correct.