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Creating Clouds
There is moisture in the air called water vapor and when the air is cooled the water vapor condenses (changes from a gas to a liquid) onto a surface. These 2 factors- water vapor and cooling air must be present in order for a cloud to form. But there is one more factor that must also be present. In this experiment your lab group will try to find the missing ingredient.
Question: What is the third factor which must be present in order for a cloud to form?
Materials:
Put on your safety glasses:
What is the third factor which must be present in order for a cloud to form?
Experiment #2: Disappearing Clouds
Question: How does air pressure affect temperature and cloud formation?
In this experiment you will be making a cloud appear just as you did in the first experiment. But in this activity you will also be making the cloud disappear. In fact, you will learn how to make your cloud appear and disappear and then appear again with just a touch of your fingers…just by putting a little pressure on the air or by releasing that pressure.
What really do the weather terms high and low pressure really mean?
What kind of weather do we usually have when we are in a high pressure zone?
In a low pressure zone?
In your hypothesis you must decide what effect high pressure has on the temperature of the air and on cloud formation and then how low pressure affects these same weather components.
Materials:
Put on your safety goggles.
Do you think you created an area of high or low pressure when you squeezed the bottle?
Now it’s time to make clouds disappear…
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There is moisture in the air called water vapor and when the air is cooled the water vapor condenses (changes from a gas to a liquid) onto a surface. These 2 factors- water vapor and cooling air must be present in order for a cloud to form. But there is one more factor that must also be present. In this experiment your lab group will try to find the missing ingredient.
Question: What is the third factor which must be present in order for a cloud to form?
Materials:
- Clear glass jar with lid
- Ice cubes
- Hot water
- Matches
- Black construction paper
- Lamp or flashlight
- Safety goggles
Put on your safety glasses:
- Fill the jar with hot water.
- Pour out most of the hot water leaving about 2 cm of water in the bottom of the jar.
- Prop the black construction paper so that it stands up behind the jar.
- Turn the lid of the jar upside=down and fill it with ice.
- Place the lid filled with ice on top of the jar (upside down so that the ice doesn’t fall into the jar).
- Let the jar sit this way for at least 10 minutes.
- Now, shine your flashlight onto the jar.
- What do you see?
- When you have finished this procedure, record your observations in your lab notes.
- Did you create a cloud?
- Fill the jar with hot water.
- Pour out most of the hot water leaving about 2 cm of water in the bottom of the jar.
- Turn the lid of the jar upside down and fill it with ice, but do not put it on top of the jar yet. Have it ready to place on top of the jar as soon as you complete step 4.
- Strike a match and drop the burning match into the jar.
- Immediately cover the jar with the lid filled with ice as in the first experiment.
- What do you see?
- Did you create a cloud?
- Do you still have the same hypothesis after seeing the results of your experiment?
What is the third factor which must be present in order for a cloud to form?
Experiment #2: Disappearing Clouds
Question: How does air pressure affect temperature and cloud formation?
In this experiment you will be making a cloud appear just as you did in the first experiment. But in this activity you will also be making the cloud disappear. In fact, you will learn how to make your cloud appear and disappear and then appear again with just a touch of your fingers…just by putting a little pressure on the air or by releasing that pressure.
What really do the weather terms high and low pressure really mean?
What kind of weather do we usually have when we are in a high pressure zone?
In a low pressure zone?
In your hypothesis you must decide what effect high pressure has on the temperature of the air and on cloud formation and then how low pressure affects these same weather components.
Materials:
- 1 clear plastic bottle with cap
- Thermometer
- Masking tape
- Water (a few drops)
- Matches
- Safety goggles
Put on your safety goggles.
- Record the temperature inside of the bottle and write it down.
- Screw the cap tightly on the bottle.
- Lay the bottle on its side and push as hard as you can on the surface of the bottle. After about 30 seconds of pushing on the bottle, have a group member read and record the temperature inside of the bottle.
- Now release the bottle and observe the temperature strip for 30 seconds. What happens to the temperature now? Read and record it.
Do you think you created an area of high or low pressure when you squeezed the bottle?
Now it’s time to make clouds disappear…
- Open the bottle and pour in a few drops of water.
- Roll the bottle around to wet the surface inside and let stand for several minutes.
- Lay the bottle on its side and push down on it as before. Have a group member light a match, blow it out, and insert the smoking end into the bottle. Quickly release your pressure on the bottle and screw on the cap.
- What do you see?
- Now apply and release pressure as you did earlier – observing temperature changes and any visible changes to the air in the bottle.
- Did you see a cloud form?
- Did you see it disappear?
- Write your observations down in your lab notes.
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