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"I sent CoolStuff to a new teacher I'm
mentoring. I use CoolStuff all the time and love it. The kids love it and learn from it!"
~ Dixie D. from Texas
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Tornado in a
Bottle Inquiry
We will use
funnels, soda bottles, and a toy
called a Tornado Tube to explore
the concepts of moment of
inertia, rotational motion,
angular momentum, kinetic and
potential energy, and air
pressure in an attempt to
discover and explain the physics
of a rather complex hydrodynamic
system.
Click here for
applicable science standards
Required Equipment
Plastic Funnel, Stopwatch, Vortex Tube,
Materials for Designing a
Funnel, 2 Empty Soda Bottles, Water Source, Large Tub
or Sink.
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Acknowledgements: Thank
you to Dr. J.R. Harkay author
of Phenomenal Physics for
providing this student inquiry
activity.
Adapted
from “Twister! Tornado in a
Bottle,” an Inquiry Exercise by
J. R. Harkay.
See
www.PhenomenalPhysics.com
for more information on the
complete Guided Inquiry
Curriculum. |
Dr. Russell
Harkay
Keene State College
New Hampshire |
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Download
Teacher Notes and Student
Worksheets
Back
to Main Lab Menu |
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Recommended
quantity per lab group: 1
The
"Materials for Designing
a Funnel" required for this
lab is any material out of which
you can create your own funnel. |
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Recommended
quantity per lab group: 2
The
"Empty Soda Bottles" required for this
lab are any ordinary soda bottle
that has been emptied of its
content.
Each lab group would need 2
bottles. |
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Recommended
quantity per lab group: 1
The
"Water Source" required for this
lab is any available source of
tap water. |
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Recommended
quantity per lab group: 1
The
"Large Tub or Sink" required for this
lab is any available tub or sink
that is large enough to perform
this experiment in. |
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