We went back to our investigation list and are starting to think that our investigations aren't giving us the whole picture. We need to SEE more, and frankly, we aren't just seeing it. Zoom-ins and models were on our list!
Both Mrs. Brinza and the students built some models together to help us see things at a better scale. With some household materials available in Mrs. Brinza's workspace, we agreed that marbles (both magnetic and non-magnetic would help).
From here, we worked together as a class to see what would happen when the water tried to evaporate from both a cup without a lid and with one. Here's what we built together!
We know that the water molecules can escape the cup w/o a lid. That's how it loses mass. But is that why it loses temperature, too? How do those molecules get up in the air in the first place? How is it that the cup with a lid doesn't really lose mass but loses temperature (just at a slower rate)? We see them running into the lid. What really happens when they interact? How does that relate to changes in temperature but not changes in mass? |