EXPERIMENTS AT HOME

Water covers over 2/3rds of the planet. As it heats up and evaporates, it replenishes the moisture we need in the air to creates clouds, rain, snow, and ice! This experiment explores the water cycle by creating a cloud in a bottle. Watch closely as the vapor rises off the hot water and creates a cloud! Parental supervision is recommended for this experiment.

Experiment Equipment List:

EXPERIMENTS AT HOME

Unequal heating of our atmosphere is the mechanism that helps move air around the planet. Water and air are both types of fluids, so you can study the movement in water to understand the movements of air. Cold water tends to sink, and warm water tends to rise. This experiment helps you visualize the interactions between cold, dense water, and the warmer water than surrounds it. Watch closely to see what happens, and make notes on how you think this matches what happens in the air above you!

Experiment Equipment List:

EXPERIMENTS AT HOME

The air above us is always pressing down on everything it surrounds. We don’t notice it because we are used to carrying the weight of the air. At sea level, air weighs 14.696 pounds per square inch…which means there is over 2,116 pounds or weight on every square foot of our planet. The weight of the air is called air pressure, and this experiment shows you what happens when the pressure drops in one area. Some people experience aches and pains when the air pressure drops because less air pressure allows joints to swell. Think about how this also affects how the air moves around the high and low pressure areas of Earth by observing the results of this experiment!

Experiment Equipment List: 

EXPERIMENTS AT HOME

In many of our lessons, we talk about how the air expands and rises when it heats up, and shrinks and drops when it cools off.  This simple experiment demonstrates how the differences in temperature cause this to happen.  Molecules in the air move faster and move farther apart when the air heats up. They move slower and move closer together when the air cools. Watch the results of this experiment to see the expansion and contraction of air happen in real time!

Experiment Equipment List: 

EXPERIMENT

This experiment demonstrates how a gas expands in the atmosphere. It helps your student to understand what a powerful force expansion, and contraction, of the atmosphere can be as it relates to weather!

IMPORTANT: This experiment requires adult supervision. Please read the Safety precautions BEFORE attempting to perform this experiment.

EXPERIMENT

This experiment will show your students how air pressure affects the ability of the air to hold moisture. In this case, the air in the jug is in a closed system, while the air in the atmosphere is in an open system. However, the principal physical changes work the same way in both the experiment and the atmosphere.

Discussion Questions:

Have you ever walked outside on a foggy day? Did you realize that was a cloud on the ground?  Did you get wet?

If the air is saturated with water vapor, what do you think that mean?

Discuss how hot air causes water vapor to evaporate.

IMPORTANT: This experiment requires adult supervision. Please read the Safety precautions BEFORE attempting to perform this experiment.

EXPERIMENT

This experiment demonstrates how the sun’s heat creates upward motion of air (convection) and forms thunderstorms. The experiment reinforces previous lessons on clouds and precipitation.

Discussion Questions:

Discuss what role the sun plays in creating clouds, and in the water cycle.

Have you ever observed a cumulus cloud grow on a hot day?

IMPORTANT: This experiment requires adult supervision. Please read the Safety precautions BEFORE attempting to perform this experiment.

EXPERIMENT

Clouds form in the sky all the time. This experiment demonstrates the process by which clouds are formed. Use the knowledge your students gained from previous lessons to anticipate the results of this experiment.

Discussion Questions:

What do you think happens when liquid nitrogen is heated rapidly?

Discuss what you expect to happen when you combine the water and the liquid nitrogen.

Be ready to watch the results of the video closely.  Think about what you will see happen and try to explain the processes.

IMPORTANT: This experiment requires adult supervision. Please read the Safety precautions BEFORE attempting to perform this experiment.