Does Air Have Weight?

This week we investigated the idea of air having weight. It was connected to General Sherman, the tallest living thing (a tree in California). The lab was set up so that young scientists inquired about what leads to a plant's weight (millions of pounds in the case of the giant redwood). Where did this weight come from? After learning the history of past scientists doing experiments dealing with soil and concluding their weight didn't have much to do with that, we turned to air. Since leaves have tiny holes on the bottom, and take in and out air from these, could air have anything to do with it? Through making a balloon balance scale, we let the air out balloons on one side to conclude air does in fact weight something. This was connected back to plants' weight is due to air (3/4 of total weight) and water (about 1/4 of weight). So, if your child tries to serve you an empty plate with a glass of water on it, they are probably joking that they are serving you vegetables!