CONVECTION EXPERIMENTS

We continue our study of the basic concepts in earth science with the process of convection.  Convection is defined as the movement of molecule caused by heating.

This photo shows convection in a glass plate.  The blue water was ice cold; the red water was hot. They moved around the plate forming this convection cell.  If it looks like a hurricane on a weather map, that is not a coincidence.  The same forces are at work in forming cyclonic storms.


The next two videos show a demonstration called The Fountain.  The flask, with a little water, is heated.  As it heats, the air expands and pushes its way out of the tube leaving a semi-vacuum in the flask.  Then the flask was inverted in ice water (purple).   The water at first climbs up the tube slowly to replace the slowly cooling and contracting air.  When the ice water hits the air, the air contracts suddenly and violently pulls the water into the flask.


THE FOUNTAIN - PART 1

THE FOUNTAIN - PART 2

(Thank you, Bailey, for making the video for me.  You did a great job.)

This is your assignment for tonight.  Watch this video of Steve Spangler doing an experiment that is very similar to one that we did.

CLICK HERE


Answer these questions:

1.  To which of our experiments was this experiment similar?

2.  How is his experiment similar?

3.  What did he do different, or in addition to, our experiment?

4.  How was the result of the second of the additional experiment different?