Cloud in a Bottle

Background Information

Objectives

• Students will make observations of what they see happening in the formation of a cloud in a modeled situation.
• As a class, students will compile their observations in a list to better understand how the formation happened.

Materials

• cold water
• glass bottle with screw cap
• matches
• scissors
• drinking straw
• modeling clay
• chart paper and markers

Procedures

1. Prepare the bottle beforehand. Make a hole in the bottle cap, push the straw through the hole and seal it in place with clay.
2. Gather the students in a large circle, so that everyone can see the teacher performing the experiment. Begin to question the students, "how do clouds form?" Ask if they have every seen a cloud up close. Tell them that you can make a cloud appear in a bottle. Tell them, as the class scientists, it is their responsibility to make observations of what happens.
3. Pour a little cold water into the bottle and swish it around. Pour out the remaining water into a nearby tub. Light a match, blow it out, then hold the smoking match in the neck of the bottle so that the smoke is drawn inside. Quickly twist the cap onto the bottle and blow into the straw as hard as you can. Stop blowing and pinch the straw so no air can escape. Let go of the straw.
4. Right before the teacher lets go of the straw, remind students to watch closely and make observations, shared orally with the class, of what they see. Repeat the procedure with other bottles.
5. Begin a discussion with the students of what happened during the procedures.
   • What did you see?
   • What does it remind you of?
   • What did the cloud look like?
   • Is it different from a cloud in the sky? How?
   • What happened when the straw was not pinched, and released?
6. Put the bottles and materials aside and get out the chart paper and markers. Ask the students the same questions as during the formation of the cloud and discuss the various answers. Record every response on the chart paper, and clarify as necessary. Invite volunteers to sketch out or draw what they might have seen on the chalkboard. Encourage all students to make detailed descriptions of what they observed or what their classmates have drawn.
7. Leave the students with the questions of where did the cloud come from and how/why did it form? Although the class may not come to any answers, use their thoughts for further study on clouds, air pressure, and water vapor in the weather unit. Post the studentsŐ observations somewhere in the room to refer back to throughout the unit.

Evaluation of Student Learning

1. Listen to student's comments and observations as you are forming the cloud in a bottle. Does the teacher need to show the students another time to see the process again? Are they looking for what happens in the bottle? Are they asking questions about what happened? Can they make descriptions of what they see that are detailed and related to what they already know?
2. Listen to the descriptions the students give the teacher to write down. Have they compiled all their thoughts and observations and discussion in answers? Do they offer any suggestions as to how and why it happened? Do they have more questions? Has their interest been sparked? Are they able to think through what happened with their background knowledge and beginning concepts of clouds?