Clouds in a Jar

Materials
  • A mason jar or any kind of jar/bottle with a wide opening
  • Boiling water (Note: This can be very dangerous so make sure to get the help of a parent or guardian for handling this material.)
  • Hairspray 
  • Ice 

Activity Directions 
  1. Watch the video on clouds linked below. 
  2. Test your understanding of clouds by playing a fun Quizizz game!
  3. Perform the cloud in a jar activity (Note: The experiment video linked below also walks you through the activity.)
    1. Start by pouring some boiling hot water into the jar. About ⅓ of your jar should be filled. 
    2. Place the lid of your mason jar on upside down and put as much ice as you can on the lid. Wait for about a minute (you should see some condensation forming on the inside of the jar). 
    3. Next, quickly take the lid off, spray some hairspray into the jar, and place the lid back on. 
    4. Observe your cloud forming! The longer you wait, the more visible your cloud will become. 
      1. This experiment works because the boiling water you first poured into the jar allowed water vapor to form on the inside. Adding the hairspray caused the molecules of water vapor to attach onto the particles from the hairspray, creating a visible cloud. 
    5. For a more advanced cloud experiment, click on the “Experiment Video 2” link.​
Quizizz Link: https://quizizz.com/join/quiz/5f362b7c1a62f6001b83583e/start?studentShare=true 

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Suggested Videos: 
Clouds Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CezO52F_S_g
Experiment Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq5yVILTSmI 
Experiment Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiw4sp0dqkI
Published 8.14.2020

Author: Rupali Venkatesan