Student Experience 4 (Optional): Soda Cans and a Humidifier

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Purpose

[stextbox id = “info”] To have students apply their emerging understanding of condensation to a new situation.
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Description

[stextbox id = “info”] Place a warm soda can and a cold soda can in front of a humidifier (both cans should be the same distance from the humidifier). Ask students to predict what will happen to the surface of the cans when the humidifier is turned on and to record their predictions and explanations in their journals.

Turn on the humidifier and have students record observations of both cans once a minute for 5 minutes.

(Activity adapted from Hokayem & Schwarz, 2013 ^[2].)
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Questions to Ask Students

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• What changes did you observe over time?
• What pattern do you see from your observations?
• Explain what you observed. How and why do you think this happened?

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Implementation Tips

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• More water droplets will collect on the cold can than the warm can over time.
• This demonstration should help students understand that the larger the temperature difference between an object and the air, the more condensation will collect on the object.

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