If an insect is inside of a container, but flying, is it adding weight to the container?

Question

If an insect is inside of a container, but flying, is it adding weight to the container?

In: 133

Answer 1

A few other people here have done good jobs explaining, but if I was truly talking to a 5 year old, I’d say something like this:

Yes. When a bug (or a plane, bird, or whatever) is flying, it isn’t making itself weigh less. It’s pushing down on the air around it, which pushes down on the ground, to lift itself up in the opposite direction–just like you push down on the arm of a chair or table to help you stand up.

If that air is inside a box, it will push down on the box to lift the bug up a (roughly) equal amount to that bug’s weight. The box will weigh the same as if the bug was sitting down.