Water Cycle - Activities

Activity:  Condensation

Materials:
1 tumbler with a lid for each lab group
warm waterice
a piece of black construction paper

Procedure:

• 1.  Fill the tumbler with warm water.
• 2.  After 2-3 minutes, pour all but 2.5 cm of the warm water out of the tumbler.
• 3.  Drop a lit match in each teams tumbler.
• 4.  Quickly put the lid (with ice on top of it) on the tumbler.
• 5.  Hold the piece of black construction paper behind the tumbler.
• 6.  If teams have difficulty seeing the cloud, have them shine a flashlight through the tumbler while they observe.

Observation:

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Conclusion:
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Why:  Warm air contains water vapor.  As the air rises, the water vapor in it cools.  When water vapor cools and touches a surface, it turns into liquid water.  This water is said to have “condensed.”  Small airborne particles of material (such as dust or smoke) are present in the air.  These tiny airborne particles provide the surfaces on which the water vapor can condense.  The condensed droplets of water congregate around these particles and form clouds.