What is the Maximum Height For a Siphon?

Hypothesis - I predict the maximum height for a siphon will be about 3.5 ft. because, according to my siphon structure, 3.5 ft. is the middle of it and it is not too high or low.

Problem - I’m trying to figure out what the maximum height for a siphon is. Siphons go against gravity, so I want to find the height that will make the water stop flowing.

What is a Siphon? - A siphon is a tube to carry liquid upwards from a source of water to a lower level of its own accord. In other words, a siphon is a tube that is used to carry liquid from one end to the other. The tube gets liquid from a cup or a bucket and carries it to the other side. Siphons are devices that go against the force of gravity. In my experiment, I test how high a siphon can go before gravity makes the water stop flowing.

Procedure

• 1. Get Materials

  2. Begin Planning Design

  3. Build Structure

  4. Set up Siphon Experiment

  5. Test Different Heights

  6. Repeat Experiment For Each Height

  7. Record Answers

1. Make Data Table and Graph

Conclusion - As a result, the maximum height for a siphon is 3 ft. 6 in. In the end, my hypothesis was correct because I predicted that the maximum height would be around 3.5 ft., therefore, I was correct. My design was successful in doing this experiment because my structure held up during testing and the siphon worked properly. I could improve this design by changing the setup to make it better and more sturdy.

Abstract

What is the Maximum Height for a Siphon?

Hannah Fuscaldo

For my science fair project, I decided to build a siphon and experiment on it to find out what the maximum height for a siphon would be. I predicted that the maximum height for a siphon would be around 3.5 feet because this isn’t too high or too low (based on my siphon structure, which was about 5 feet). I was interested in this topic because we use a siphon tool to clean our fish tank and I was curious in how it worked.

First, and foremost, I had to build the siphon structure. To create a base, I sawed two long wood blocks to the right length and used a drill to twist in three screws so the two wood blocks were attached and sturdy. Next, I sawed another, skinnier, wood stick to the right height and drilled screws to attach that to the other two wood blocks. Now, I had a base with a long stick attached to it. After that, I cut down two more sticks and placed them, diagonally (on an angle), each lined up with the base and the edge of each side of the first wood stick. I screwed in two more screws to secure the two sticks in place. Lastly, I added the pulleys and strung some string in the two pulleys. I cut some plastic tubing to fit inside the large pulley. Finally, I added the two buckets at the base, one with a box underneath it to elevate it just a bit.

I tested the siphon with six different heights. First, I marked 0 ft., 1 ft., 2 ft., 3 ft., and 4 ft. on the siphon pole. Then, I tested the siphon on each height. I added two more heights that I tested, which were: 3 ft. 6 in. and 3 ft. 9.5 in. I tested each height to see which height would make the water in the siphon tubing stop flowing. My final result was that the 3 ft. 9.5 in. made the water stop flowing. I found out that if you raise a siphon to 3 ft. 9.5 in., then the water would stop flowing in the tubes and the siphon would stop working. In the end, I figured out the maximum height for a siphon, which was 3 ft. 9.5 in.

I found out the answer to my question, what is the maximum height for a siphon, which is 3 ft. 9.5 in. My hypothesis was correct (close enough) because I guessed that the maximum height for a siphon was 3.5 ft. and the maximum height for a siphon was 3.5 ft. 9.5 in., therefore, I was near correct. To improve this experiment, I could’ve redesigned (or built a new one) the siphon and try to make it better than the first design. Also, I could’ve improved the structure a bit if I had professional supplies to work with, but I think my design was pretty good. From this experiment, I learned the maximum height for a siphon and I learned how to build structures out of wooden sticks. I think my experiment was pretty accurate because my design was built well and my measurements were correct.

Data: