Download Cloud in a Bottle

Cloud in a Bottle
Grade Level: Five (5)
Strand: Earth and Space Systems
Topic: Weather
Scientific Expectation (s)
Students should be able to explain the formation of clouds and the effects of different cloud
formations on weather and climate.
Required Materials
- A clear glass jar (bottle)
- A pitcher of hot water
- Flashlight
- A sandwich bag filled with ice
- One sheet of black construction paper
- Matches
- Tape
Procedure
1. Guided Learning… Teacher should ask students what some of the different types of
clouds are, what are they made of, and ask the focus questions: How do you think
clouds form?
2. The teacher informs the students that as a class we are going to perform a
simulation of the formation of a cloud.
3. Take out the clear glass jar and have a student tape the black piece of construction paper
onto one side of the jar making sure you can still see inside the jar.
4. Ask another student to pour the hot water into the glass jar until it’s a third full. The teacher
needs to supervise this step for safety precautions.
5. The teacher then lights a match and holds it in the jar for a few seconds before
dropping it in.
6. Have another student volunteer quickly cover the openly of the jar with the bag of
ice.
7. The teacher welcomes the students to participate and to shine the flashlight on the
glass jar (bottle) to observe the formation of a cloud.
8. After observing the ‘Cloud in the Bottle’ students then record their observations.
Scientific Explanation
Experimental explanation: Clouds are formed in the bottle as a result of compressing warm
and cold molecules together which normally bounce around in the atmosphere without
1 sticking to one another. When the bag of ice is placed over the opening of the jar, the warm
and cold molecules inside the jar stick together. The smoke from the match acts as a solid
particle allowing the warm and cold molecules to group together more easily. A cooling
process occurs creating tiny water droplets inside the glass jar (bottle) and thus the formation
of a cloud is visible. Clouds are nothing more than tiny water droplets.
Real world explanation: As warm air rises in the atmosphere it beings to expand and cool.
Particles in the air (such as dust, pollution and fire…) attract warm and cold molecules which
form tiny water droplets. When large quantities of these water droplets gather together they
become a visible cloud. See Figure 1.1
Figure 1.1
Glossary of Scientific Terms
Cloud: A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water.
Particle: A tiny portion of matter.
Molecule: The simplest unit of a substance; a tiny particle.
Opportunities and Other Considerations
Integration of other subjects:
Visual Art: Have students construct different types of clouds by cutting two pieces of
construction paper at once and stapling the outer edges. Leave an opening so that students
can stuff the cloud with a variety of materials (bits of paper for example) which represent
warm and cold molecules grouping together. Don’t forget to decorate the clouds!
Mathematics: For a math activity, have students record the clouds they see for a couple of
weeks and graph how many days they saw each type of cloud.
Language Arts: Students can write weather reports and then present them in front of the
class.
References
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Curriculum, Grade 1-8.
Webster’s English Dictionary, Concise Edition. 1997.
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/printables/PSciencecloudslesson.htm
http://www.eduref.org/virtual/Lessons/Science/Meteorology/Met0003.htm
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/cloud.htm
http://www.csupomona.edu/~hcmireles/Courses/Sci210/Activities2005/formation2.GIF
2 Presented by:
Valerie Cote & Tara Doret
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