Understanding of Weather and Climate - Activities

NC Standard:  3.01, 3.02

Activity:  Precipitation 2

Question: Why does it rain?

Vocabulary:  precipitation, moisture, rain

Materials:
quart-sized glass jar
aluminum or iron pie tin
hot water
ice cubes

Procedure:

• 1.  Pour a cup of hot water in a quart-sized glass jar. (No lid is needed.)
• 2.  Put some ice cubes in a pie tin and place it on top of the jar.
• 3.  Observe for several minutes.

Predictions:

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Observations:

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Further Questions:  Did your predictions match your observations? What happened?

Conclusions:
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Explanation:  The hot water will heat the air in the jar and add moisture to it. The moisture-laden hot air will rise. As it nears the cold pie tin, the air will cool and condense. In time, it may actually begin to "rain" outside the jar, as water drops form on, and fall from, the part of the pan over-hanging the jar.

Line of Learning:  This line is drawn to provide students with a space to share their experimental learning in words or pictures.
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