Learning Lesson: The Rain Man

Overview

What goes up, must come down. Precipitation is the most commonly seen aspect of the hydrologic cycle. Students will learn how the water cycle works using 3-D paper craft activity. The students will see a demonstration the concept of precipitation.

TOTAL TIME	30 minutes
SUPPLIES	Mayonnaise size glass jar, Resealable sandwich bag, Ice cubes, Hot water
PRINTED/AV MATERIAL	None
TEACHER PREPARATION	None
SAFETY FOCUS	Flash Flood Safety

Procedure

1. Add about two inches (5 cm) of hot water to the mayonnaise jar.
2. Add the ice cubes to the sandwich bag and seal it.
3. Place the sandwich bag over the mouth of the jar, allowing one end of the bag to form a tip inside of the jar. This will allow the condensed water to collect at one location.
4. After a few minutes, the water (rain) will begin to drip from the sandwich bag, returning to the water.

Discussion

Water vapor will rise from the hot water and come into contact with the bag fill with ice. The ice will cause the water to condense forming drops which will drop back into the water.

Despite the sometimes-excessive rainfall that occurs, only about 0.3% of all water on the earth is found in the atmosphere. Of that 0.3%, most of the water in the atmosphere is in form of a gas called water vapor.

So, while the hydrologic cycle is essential for life due to the water it brings, the vast amount of water in the cycle is found in the oceans, lakes, and ground water.