Boiling Water Wherever You Are
Activity on the dataset Forbes Boiling Points
In this activity students plot correlations among altitude, atmospheric pressure, and the boiling point of water, then informally describe them as positive, negative, strong, or weak. They use their results to solve a hypothetical problem about being lost on a mountainside.
Learning objectives: In this activity students plot correlations and informally describe them as positive, negative, strong, or weak. They create a dot plot to answer the question "At what temperature does water boil?" They plot data to describe and interpret the relationship between boiling point and atmospheric pressure. Given the idea that atmospheric pressure is the weight of the column of air overhead, students reason about what the relationship between atmospheric pressure and altitude must be, then test their reasoning by plotting barometric pressure against altitude. Finally, they graph the relationship between altitude and boiling point; and, given a scenario of being lost in the Rocky Mountains and boiling some water to measure its boiling point, they use the graph to figure out their likely altitude. In an optional extension, students reflect on why boiling point changes with altitude, based on relationships found in the dataset. Students will: Graph data to show that water does not always boil at 212°F Informally describe the relationship between boiling point and barometric pressure Informally describe the relationship between barometric pressure and altitude Analyze data to determine an unknown altitude given a scenario of being lost on a mountain but with a handy dataset of boiling points at different altitudes.
Welcome to this Tuva activity! Have you ever set a pot of water on the stove to boil an egg, or pasta, or a hotdog? At what temperature did your water start to boil? You probably didn’t measure it while you were cooking. So here is a dataset created by a Scottish physicist, James David Forbes, who wanted to know at what temperature water boils. Before you begin, select :ti[ti-about-dataset] at the bottom of the display to review information about the dataset. In this activity, you’ll use Forbes’s data to show at what temperature water boils, and how you can use that information to help figure out where you are on a mountainside. Click Next to get started!
Topics and standards: Science, Energy, Correlation, Physical Science, Pressure, Gas Laws, Grades 9-12, HS-PS1-3, MS-PS1-4, Grades 6-8, Guided, Thermal Energy, Matter & Its Interactions, Properties of Matter, TEKS Science 6.6.A, TEKS Science IPC.7.C, 7-PS1-3, CHEM1-PS1-10, CHEM1-PS1-13, CHEM1-PS1-15, 3.2.6-8.B, 3.2.9-12.B