Flask Fountain

 

Sequencing Activity

Students watch a demonstration of heating a flask that is capped with a rubber stopper and glass tube and partially filled with water. They watch what happens when it is inverted into a beaker of water. Water in the beaker rushes up and into the flask. Why? Students arrange pictures of the experiment in sequence.


Watch Gary's Demonstration

Why Does the Water Rush
Into the Flask?

  • Watch the movie of the experiment.

  • Why does the water rush into the flask?

  • Encourage the students to observe and discuss the inquiry problem.

  • Try the activity for yourself.

Do the Sequence Activity

  • First, download the Flash 5 Web Player.

  • Install the Player on your hard drive in your browser plug-in folder.

  • Do the Flask Fountain sequence activity.

  • After successfully completing the sequencing activity, discuss your theories and/or questions with Gary and the others who are doing this inquiry.

 

Communicating Observations

It is useful to organize observations into a sequence of events. Observations can be ordered using a series of pictures or written observations.

Communicating is one of the fundamental scientific thinking processes. Recording observations, ideas, and questions in writing, and representing observations by a series of diagrams in sequence are both valuable forms of communications.

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Discuss Your Questions
and Theories

  1. Share your theory about why the water rushed into the flask.