An inquiry on evaporation

The blue class noticed that the water in the fish tank was mysteriously disappearing! There were several theories as to why this was happening. Some students knew that all animals require water in order to live, therefore the fish must be drinking the water! Another theory was that plants need water in order to survive and grow, so the aquarium plants must be absorbing the water. One boy was sure that the water was leaking through a tiny tube, then through the floor and into the underground water source! Another student explained that it was disappearing into the air

In order to prove one of the theories ( and discuss evaporation), we set up 4 experiments and let them sit.

One was a glass of water left in the sunshine and heat, where we marked the water level.

4 days later, some of the water had gone.

There was a glass set up with a water mark, and Saran Wrap on top. Very little water had escaped, proving that the water had not leaked out.

We put one of our fish in a glass, marked the water level and covered it with plastic. Very little water was gone from this one, proving that the fish hadn't drank much!

The water level in the glass with the plant and plastic covering changed very little as well,dispelling the theory that the plants were absorbing it!

So, we finally came up with the idea of Evaporation!

We then put a drop of water on Daniel's shirt, and timed how long it would take to evaporate.

16 minutes later...

In the following weeks and days, we will continue to discuss this process and investigate some experiments depicting evaporation further.