Pre-test
Answer the following questions. When you have finished, press the
Submit
button. Warning: after you hit the Submit button, you will not be able to go back and change your answers.
1. A metal pan of water is left on a counter. After a few days, there is less water in the pan. What most likely happened?
2. Where does water in a lake get most of its energy to evaporate?
Explain your answer to question 2.
Press the Right Arrow below to go to the next page.
2. Where does water in a lake get most of its energy to evaporate?
Explain your answer to question 2.
Press the Right Arrow below to go to the next page.
3. If you breathe on a mirror, part of the mirror clouds up. What are you actually seeing when you see the mirror cloud up?
4. If you were flying inside a puffy looking cloud, you would see:
4. If you were flying inside a puffy looking cloud, you would see:
| Press the Submit button when you are done. |
Driving question
Why are there clouds?
This unit explores the water cycle.
Introduction
Go on an adventure and take a trip to a cloud!
Story
Engage
What do you think clouds are made of?
In this activity, you will zoom into a cloud to see what it is made of.
Clouds are so cool! I love to look at them. Sometimes I pretend I can see different animals or other shapes.
Explore
Take a look at this cloud.
Write your response in the box above.
Try to describe the color and shape of the cloud and how it might feel.
If you could touch it, I think the cloud would feel
Fill in the blanks above to complete the sentence.
Pick the best answer above to complete the sentence.
An example answer might be: "The cloud is light and if you tried to touch it, your hand would go right through it." Try placing this into your own words.
Now we are going to take a trip into the cloud. We'll get to see what it's really like inside the cloud.
Click here [Need link to zoom tool!] and when asked, select "Open" and then "Trust."
Click "Zoom In" and watch as we enter the cloud! (Note: the "Zoom In" button is below the image. You may need to drag the image to be larger.)
Continue clicking "Zoom In."
Draw what you see when you finish zooming in.
Explain
In this activity, you took a trip into a cloud. As you got closer and closer, you saw that clouds are actually made up of tiny particles. These are droplets of water! There are tiny droplets of water in the cloud. The droplets are so small that you can not see them individually, but you can tell they are there when a lot of droplets are in the same place and form a cloud.
Now that you've taken a trip inside a cloud, what can you say that clouds are really made of?
You have now completed the Fly through a cloud! activity.
Fly through a cloud!
Engage
Now that we know there is water in clouds, how do you think it gets all the way up there?
In this activity, you will investigate what happens when water evaporates.
Materials
- Two plastic bowls (dark color)
- Warm water
- Cold water
- Plastic wrap
- Temperature probe
Explore
1. Fill one bowl with warm water.
2. Fill the other bowl with cold water.
3. Measure the temperature of each bowl.
| Hot bowl temperature: | |
| Cold bowl temperature: |
Write your answer in the box above.
Observe the plastic wrap carefully to see if there are any changes.
Above the cold water, the plastic wrap looks
Fill in the blanks above to complete the sentence.
water gets cloudy.
Pick the best answer above.
Does the plastic wrap over the hot water look misty? Compare a cloud to the mist on the plastic wrap.
6. Touch the plastic wrap. What does the cloudy plastic feel like?
7. The substance that makes the wrap look cloudy is water. Just like we saw in the clouds, there are tiny droplets of water on the plastic wrap. The plastic wrap never touched the water in the bowl.
7. The substance that makes the wrap look cloudy is water. Just like we saw in the clouds, there are tiny droplets of water on the plastic wrap. The plastic wrap never touched the water in the bowl.
Write your response in the box above.
How could the water get from the bowl to the plastic wrap?
Complete the sentence above.
Select the best answer above to complete the sentence
The water moved from the bowl to the plastic wrap as a gas in the air. In your own words, describe how this happens.
8. Now lift the plastic wrap and hold it up. Watch the cloudy film on the plastic wrap carefully.
What happens?
Write your response in the box above.
If the water droplets move from the air to the plastic wrap, where do you think they might go?
and entered into the
Fill in the blanks above to complete the sentence.
Choose the best answer above.
The water changed into a gas and entered the air. Explain in your own words.
Explain
Water evaporates, or changes from liquid to gas when you add energy. The water evaporated faster from the warm bowl.
Write your response in the box above.
Think about which bowl has more energy.
| There is more energy in the | bowl. |
Fill in the blank above to complete the sentence.
in the warm bowl.
Pick the best choice above to complete the sentence.
There is more energy in the warm bowl. How do you know?
The water molecules in the warm water have more energy. Some of them have enough energy to change from liquid to gas. Some water molecules touch the plastic wrap and lose energy, turning back into water droplets. The droplets are what you see when you see the cloudy film on the plastic wrap.
Here's an example of boiling water. As you add heat energy with the stove, a lot of the water is turning into gas and rising into the air. The "steam" you can see is actually like the cloudy film on the plastic; it's water that has cooled back down into tiny droplets of liquid water-like a cloud!
Watch
this
video.
How does water get into the air to form clouds?
You have now completed the Water in the air activity.
You have now completed the Water in the air activity.
Water in the air
Engage
Where do you think rain and snow come from?
In this activity, you will investigate condensation.
Have you played in the rain or the snow? It can be wet or cold, but fun!
Materials
- Two clear plastic cups per group
- Freezer
Explore
1. Put one plastic cup in the freezer and keep one out. Note the time.
2. What will happen to the cup while it's in the freezer?
3. When warm air comes in contact with the cold cup, what do you think will happen to the air? L5: Type your response in the text box below.
L4: How will the temperature of the air change when it comes in contact with the cold glass?
L3: When it comes in contact with the cold glass, the temperature of the air will [fill in the blank].
L2: When the warm air touches the cold glass, it will gain energy and warm up. When the warm air touches the cold glass, it will lose energy and cool down. [Select one.]
L1: Since the glass is cold, it will draw heat from the air and the air will get cooler. Explain.
4. Check the time. If the plastic cup has been in the freezer for at least 5 minutes, take the cup out of the freezer. Place it next to the cup that has been at room temperature.
Draw and explain what you see:
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: Does the cold cup look different than the cup at room temperature?
L3: The cold glass looks... compared to the cup at room temperature.
L2: The (*cold, room temperature) glass looks cloudy.
L1: The cold glass looks cloudy.
Draw and explain what you see:
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: Does the cold cup look different than the cup at room temperature?
L3: The cold glass looks... compared to the cup at room temperature.
L2: The (*cold, room temperature) glass looks cloudy.
L1: The cold glass looks cloudy.
5. From our previous experiment, what can you tell me the cloudiness is made of?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: Think of why it looks "cloudy."
L3: The cloudiness is made of .... vapor.
L2: The cloudiness is made of (*water vapor, dust, air).
L1: The cloudiness is made of water vapor. How do we know?
L4: Think of why it looks "cloudy."
L3: The cloudiness is made of .... vapor.
L2: The cloudiness is made of (*water vapor, dust, air).
L1: The cloudiness is made of water vapor. How do we know?
Explain
The water vapor in the air can turn back into liquid water when it loses heat. When a substance turns from a gas to a liquid it is called condensation.
How does water get out of the air to form liquid droplets in clouds?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: What happens to the water vapor in the air to make it turn back into liquid water?
L3: When the water vapor in the air loses... it turns back into liquid water to form the droplets in clouds.
L2: When the water vapor in the air (gains energy, *loses energy, gets heavier) it turns back into liquid water to form the droplets in clouds.
L1: When the water vapor in the air loses energy, it turns back into liquid water to form the droplets in clouds. Explain. You have now completed the Condensation activity.
Condensation
Engage
Where is there water?
In this activity, you will explore water in its three phases: solid, liquid, and gas.
Explore
If you look all around you, you'll notice that water comes in many shapes and sizes.
Sometimes water is a solid. Here are some examples of solids.
What is water like when it is a solid?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: What is made of water but hard as a rock?
L3: .... is made of water but is as hard as a rock.
L2: (Water vapor, *ice, liquid water) is made of water but is as hard as a rock.
L1: Ice is solid water. How can you prove that ice is made of water? Write "solid" on the picture below where you see solid water.
Sometimes water is a liquid, and can change shape easily. Here are some examples of liquids:
by Flickr user Daybis: http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=57055108& size=m
Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
by Flickr user ericskiff: http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=183552114& size=m
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
by Flickr user Dan H: http://flickr.com/photos/dan_h/206084861/
Some rights reserved: No derivative works What is water like when it is a liquid?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: Describe liquid water.
L3: An example of liquid water is found in a...
L2: Liquid water can be found in (*a glass of water, ice, water vapor)
L1: A glass of water is an example of liquid water. Write "liquid" in a new color on the picture below where you see liquid water.
by Flickr user Daybis: http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=57055108& size=m
Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
by Flickr user ericskiff: http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=183552114& size=m
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
by Flickr user Dan H: http://flickr.com/photos/dan_h/206084861/
Some rights reserved: No derivative works What is water like when it is a liquid?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: Describe liquid water.
L3: An example of liquid water is found in a...
L2: Liquid water can be found in (*a glass of water, ice, water vapor)
L1: A glass of water is an example of liquid water. Write "liquid" in a new color on the picture below where you see liquid water.
A
solid
is: matter with a definite volume and shape. Marbles, pasta and grains of sand are solids, so their shapes and volumes do not change.
A
liquid
is matter that has definite volume, but no definite shape. At room temperature, water is a liquid; its shape can change but its volume does not.
Most materials can change forms. They can be solid at one temperature, but liquid at another temperature.
At room temperature, water is liquid, but when water is in its solid form, it is ice.
If you wanted to change water from its liquid form to its solid, ice form, what could you do?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: How could you turn liquid water into ice?
L3: If I wanted to turn liquid water into ice I would... so it freezes.
L2: I could turn liquid water into ice by (boiling it, *putting it in the freezer).
L1: I could turn liquid water into ice by putting it in the freezer. Explain this below. In this unit, we are studying water on the Earth.
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: How could you turn liquid water into ice?
L3: If I wanted to turn liquid water into ice I would... so it freezes.
L2: I could turn liquid water into ice by (boiling it, *putting it in the freezer).
L1: I could turn liquid water into ice by putting it in the freezer. Explain this below. In this unit, we are studying water on the Earth.
The stamp shown here represents all the liquid water on the Earth. Compared to the amount of liquid water, how much water do you think is solid on the Earth, in the form of ice?
Draw a shape that compares the size of the liquid water to the size of the ice.
The Earth has ice in glaciers and permanent snow, but it makes up less than 2% of the Earth's water. More than 96% of the Earth's water is in the oceans.
How does the amount of ice compare to your predictions?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: Was the amount of ice on the Earth more than or less than you predicted?
L3: The amount of ice on the Earth was .... than I predicted.
L2: The amount of ice on the Earth was (more than, less than) than I predicted.
L1: The amount of ice on the Earth was (more than, less than) than I predicted.
Draw a shape that compares the size of the liquid water to the size of the ice.
The Earth has ice in glaciers and permanent snow, but it makes up less than 2% of the Earth's water. More than 96% of the Earth's water is in the oceans.
How does the amount of ice compare to your predictions?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: Was the amount of ice on the Earth more than or less than you predicted?
L3: The amount of ice on the Earth was .... than I predicted.
L2: The amount of ice on the Earth was (more than, less than) than I predicted.
L1: The amount of ice on the Earth was (more than, less than) than I predicted.
Some materials change shape and volume. An example of this is air. Air is a gas.
A
gas
is matter that has no definite shape or volume. For example, if you take a mylar ballon (the shiny kind) outside on a cold day, it looks deflated. The gas inside the balloon changes shape and volume.
Watch this
video
.
Author: Freddie Lindén When water is a gas, it is called water vapor or steam. What do you think water is like when it's a gas?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: What does water vapor (gas) look like? Dos it change shape or volume?
L3: As a gas, water looks.... It can change ... and ....
L2: As a gas, water looks (like liquid water, invisible, cloudy, misty)
L1: As a gas, water is invisible. Explain below. Write "gas" on the picture below where you see water vapor.
Author: Freddie Lindén When water is a gas, it is called water vapor or steam. What do you think water is like when it's a gas?
L5: Write your response in the box below.
L4: What does water vapor (gas) look like? Dos it change shape or volume?
L3: As a gas, water looks.... It can change ... and ....
L2: As a gas, water looks (like liquid water, invisible, cloudy, misty)
L1: As a gas, water is invisible. Explain below. Write "gas" on the picture below where you see water vapor.
Explain
In the water cycle, water changes from a liquid to a gas and back to a liquid or a solid. This is how water on the earth is recyled, and it is how we get rain and snow.
Water vapor, the form of water that is a gas, is released by plants (transpiration) and evaporates from lakes, the ocean and the surface of the Earth.
When conditions are right, water turns back into a liquid in the form of tiny droplets.
As the tiny droplets form, they start to clump together and increase in size. When the droplets are big enough, they fall to the ground as precipitation.
Evaluate
Look at the water cycle below. Can you label the solid, liquid, and gas states of water?
You have now completed the Solid, liquid, gas activity.
Solid, liquid, gas
Students complete offline math activity.
Math
Where is there water?
Make your own illustration of the water cycle.
L5: Use the drawing tools below to draw your answer.
L4: You might want to include lakes, streams, mountains and clouds.
L3: Use the tools below to create your own water cycle. [Stamps: lakes, streams, mountains and clouds.]
L2: Choose the best from these examples and create it yourself with the tools below. [Examples of stamps arranged in good and bad configurations for water cycle]
L1: Look at the example water cycle and create your own with the tools below. Water leaves lakes and rises into the atmosphere, and then falls back to the ground as rain or snow. This is called the water cycle. Why do you think this is called a water cycle?
What are clouds made of?
[Note: need PICS: Different cloud formations. Sometimes the water forms ice crystals in clouds, known as cirrus.]
Why do you think it sometimes rains and sometimes snows?
How does water get into the air?
Where does evaporation occur in the water cycle?
[Note: need BACKGROUND IMAGE, ART of water cycle] L5: Use the drawing tools to illustrate your answer.
L4: Think about what happens to water when it evaporates.
L3: When water evaporates, it goes from the liquid state to a gas. Where does that occur in the water cycle?
L2: Does water evaporate in the clouds? Is rain or snow an example of evaporating water? Does water evaporate from lakes and oceans?
L1: Try drawing the way water evaporates from a lake, ocean, river, plants or even the ground.
How does water get out of the air?
[Note: BACKGROUND IMAGE, ART of water cycle]
Where does condensation occur in the water cycle?
L5: Use the drawing tools to illustrate your answer.
L4: Think about what happens to water when it condenses.
L3: When water condenses, it goes from the liquid state to a gas. Where does that occur in the water cycle?
L2: Does water condense in the clouds? Is rain or snow an example of condensation of water? Does water condense from lakes and oceans?
L1: Try drawing the way water condenses in a cloud to form water droplets, and eventually precipitation like rain or snow. As you go up a mountain, the temperature of the air is cooler. What do you think happens to the water vapor in a cloud as it goes up the side of a mountain?
L5: Type your response in the text box below.
L4: Think about what happens to water vapor in the air when it cools.
L3: As the air cools, the water vapor [fill in the blank].
L2: As the air cools, [note: drawings: the cloud becomes bigger, the water vapor condenses and it rains or snows, the water in the ground and in rivers evaporates.]
L1: As the air cools, water condenses, eventually forming precipitation like rain or snow. The water vapor condenses, and the clouds become smaller. [Select one.] Let your teacher know when you have completed the clouds unit. Your teacher will then unlock the posttest for you.
| Teacher password | |
Wrapping up
Answer the following questions. When you have finished, press the
Submit
button. Warning: after you hit the Submit button, you will not be able to go back and change your answers.
1. A metal pan of water is left on a counter. After a few days, there is less water in the pan. What most likely happened?
2. Where does water in a lake get most of its energy to evaporate?
Explain your answer to question 2.
Press the Right Arrow below to go to the next page.
2. Where does water in a lake get most of its energy to evaporate?
Explain your answer to question 2.
Press the Right Arrow below to go to the next page.
3. If you breathe on a mirror, part of the mirror clouds up. What are you actually seeing when you see the mirror cloud up?
4. If you were flying inside a puffy looking cloud, you would see:
4. If you were flying inside a puffy looking cloud, you would see:
Post-test