- University of Virginia
- Physics Department
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Condensation
A Physical Science Activity
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2003 Virginia SOLs
Objectives
Students will
- discover how certain conditions affect condensation;
- use mass difference to measure the amount of condensation on the outside
of a container.
Motivation for
Learning
Driving Question
- When you are drinking a cold drink, do you notice that
sometimes your glass gets wet on the outside? Why do you think
this happens? Under what conditions do you get more or less water?
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Background
Information
This activity is designed to introduce students to the concept of
condensation. They should discover that the colder a liquid is on the
inside of the glass, the more condensation develops on the outside of
the glass. This activity will work better in a more humid environment
so that there is more water vapor in the air to be condensed on the
glasses.
Student
Activity
To print out the Student Copy only,
click
here.
Materials
- 3 600 mL beakers (or other suitable containers)
- ice
- paper towels (or napkins)
- electronic balance
Procedure
- Obtain 3 beakers and 3 paper towels. Take the mass of each of
the dry paper towels and record that mass in the data table.
- Line the 3 paper towels along a table or counter so that they
are not touching each other.
- Fill one beaker to the top with ice, a second beaker halfway,
and a third beaker a quarter full. Then fill the beakers up with
water.
- Carefully place the beakers on top of the paper towels being
sure not to spill any of the water.
- Allow the beakers to sit for 10-15 minutes (depending on the
humidity). Observe the condensation developing on the outside of
the beakers. What do you see?
- After the 10-15 minutes have passed, wipe each of the beakers
completely dry with the paper towels underneath. (Make sure you
don't dip the paper towels into the water or accidentally wipe a
different beaker.)
- Take the mass of the wet paper towels, and record those masses
in the data table. (Make sure that you record the masses of the
wet paper towels in the correct place to match up with the same
paper towel when it was dry.)
- Subtract the masses to determine how much water was added to
the paper towels. Record this in the data table. Which paper towel
gained the most water? The one from the coldest beaker or the
warmest beaker?
- Take the temperature of the three different beakers of water
and record these values in the data table.
- Make a graph of Mass of Condensation vs. Temperature of Water.
What type of curve to you get? What kind of relationship is there
between temperature of water and the amount of condensation you
get?
- Because of the inverse relationship you may now want to have
the students graph 1/mass vs. temperature. This should give them a
nice linear graph to show that as temperature decreases, the mass
of the condensation increases accordingly.
Data Table
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Beaker
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Mass of Dry Paper Towel
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Mass of Wet Paper Towel
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Mass of Condensation
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Temperature of Water
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Filled with Ice
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Half-filled
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Quarter-filled
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Sample Data
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Beaker
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Mass of Dry Paper Towel
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Mass of Wet Paper Towel
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Mass of Condensation
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Temperature of Water
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Filled with Ice
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2.0 g
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3.7 g
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1.7 g
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4.83 C°
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Half-filled
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2.0 g
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3.3 g
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1.3 g
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6.12 C°
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Quarter-filled
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2.0 g
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2.7 g
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0.7 g
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12.4 C°
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Extensions
- Have students design and perform an experiment that would test
the condensation rates of other liquids.
- Have students make the graphs using a graphing calculator or
other graphing program and find best fit lines.
Students with Special Needs
All students should be able to participate in this activity.
Click here for further
information on laboratories with students with special needs.
Assessment
- Walk around and check students' data and graphs to make sure
they are correct.
- Have students write a paragraph explaining the concept of
condensation and what the results of their experiments were.