Screaming Balloons - A Sound Experiment

Materials:
2 Balloons
1 hex nut
1 marble

Methods:
Squeeze the hex nut into one of the balloons.
Squeeze the marble into the other balloon.
Carefully blow up and tie both balloons.  Be careful not to suck in the hex nut or marble.
Grip the balloon by the knot, with your palm down.  Move your hand in a circular motion.

Hypothesis:
The hex nut will rub against the balloon and make a moaning sound.

Observations:
The balloon with the hex nut makes a screaming or moaning sound.
The balloon with the marble makes almost no sound.

Conclusions:
The hex nut's uneven sides hit against the balloon, making vibrations, which we hear as sound.  The marble is smooth and has no sides to hit against the balloon, so it makes almost no vibrations.

I suggest you use two different colored balloons.

You can see the the pattern created by the uneven sides of the hex nut.

You can also see that the marble leaves a smooth pattern.

This is a video of the balloon with the hex nut.

This experiment was easy and fun.

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom