Water Cycle Terrarium: How Does Water Move Around a Sealed Jar?
Sim Lesson
Students use the Water Cycle Terrarium simulation to move a heat lamp closer, watch water evaporate into vapor, form a cloud, and rain back down to refill the pond. Lesson Purpose Students are learning that the same water cycles through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The sealed terrarium makes it clear that no new water is added; the same water keeps moving.
A closed jar with a plant inside can keep watering itself for years, with no one adding water. The same water keeps moving around inside. How does water travel around a sealed space like that? In this lesson, you will use the Water Cycle Terrarium simulation to add heat and watch water move from the pond, into the air, and back again.
Topics and standards: Science, Earth Science, Atmosphere, Simulation, Watersheds, Weather & Climate, Grades 3-5, 5-ESS2-1, Earth Systems, Water Air & Ice, TEKS Science 4.10.A, 6-ESS2-4, SC.5.E.7.1, 3.3.5.C