How to Make a Tornado in the Classroom
The tornado-in-a-bottle experiment is a classic in science classes when looking to interest your students in earth science, the science of weather or basic physics. Assist your students in setting up the device they will use to re-create the mini-tornado, which will look even more impressive with some food coloring. Furthermore, given the simple design of the tornado experiment, students can repeat it as many times as they want as you explain the science involved.
Things You'll Need
- Two clear, 2-liter soda bottles with caps
- Duct tape
- Drill
- 0.25-inch drill bit
- Red food coloring
Instructions
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Holster two bottle caps from 2-liter soda bottles together in a clamp and, using a drill, drill a 0.25-inch hole through the center of each of the caps -- note that your hole can range anywhere between 0.15 to 0.50-inch, but a medium-size hole is ideal.
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2
Tape the two bottle caps to one another so the tops of the caps are stuck together and the drilled holes are aligned. Roll the tape around the outside of the caps, so they are firmly attached and the holes will remain securely aligned.
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3
Place one empty 2-liter bottle on the table and fill it two-thirds full with tap water. Using a medicine dropper, add two drops of red food coloring and shake the bottle gently so the water becomes tinted by the red color.
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4
Screw on one side of the double-cap device to this bottle firmly, so the other lid is left pointed upward without a bottle attached to it.
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Turn the second, empty bottle upside down and screw it firmly onto the other end of the double-cap device so the two bottles are now attached together; the lower bottle should be two-thirds full of red-color water while the other bottle is empty and upside down.
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Turn the entire device upside down so the red water runs through the double-cap device and into the lower bottle. Hold the lower bottle with your hands and swirl it around. As the red liquid runs through, you and your students will witness a mini-tornado forming in the lower bottle as a vortex is created.
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Tips & Warnings
Some guides call for this experiment to be carried out in a similar way, but with silicon caulking filled into the holes in the double-cap device -- this serves to slow down the flow of liquid, which can add to the tornado effect created.
Don't worry if this experiment does not work the first time around. Simply wait for all the liquid to flow into the lower bottle, turn the two bottles upside down and try again, swirling the bottle more vigorously to make sure a vortex is created.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
