Look! We're Learning!

Early Learning. Happy Teaching.

  • Shop
  • Printables
  • Homeschool
  • Crafts
  • Parenting
  • Blog

Simple Science Experiments: Coffee Can Condensation Science Experiment

March 3, 2014 by Selena Robinson 8 Comments

Sharing is caring!

62 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Winter is coming to an end, but we wanted to sneak in one last winter-themed activity this school year. Tigger is a science fanatic, and she’s always up for an experiment, so it was a great time to learn about condensation and frost. ๐Ÿ™‚

I was reading through one of our science workbooks and found this super easy Coffee Can Condensation Science Experiment, so we got to work!

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

Coffee Can Condensation Science Experiment

We picked up the workbookย Science Projects & Experiments: Grade 2-3ย at Target a while back, but I’d totally forgotten about it. (It was recently unearthed during a School Supply Scavenger Hunt.) One of the experiments in the book uses a coffee can, salt, and ice to create frost.

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

What often puts me off from science experiments is that they often seem to consist of things I don’t have on hand. I just happened to have an empty coffee can, though, so this was perfect!

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

We put several ice cubes in the can, then added 1/2 cup of salt.

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

Tigger stirred the ice and salt together, then closed the lid.

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

The experiment instructions said to observe the can at 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes to observe what would happen. After 10 minutes, I looked at the can and wondered why nothing was happening.

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

Then I realized that we’d never see anything with the wrapper still on it. Duh, Selena.

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

This was 20 minutes in. Frost was clearly developing on the outside of the can.

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

Not only was frost developing, but there were a few drops of water at the base.

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

After 30 minutes, the entire bottom of the can was frosted over. As the book explained, the ice inside the can made the outside of the can extremely cold. As water vapor in the air touched the can, it immediately condensed and froze, becoming frost. Pretty neat!

Coffee Can Condensation Experiment

Tigger wanted to see what happened to the ice inside the can. We observed that the ice was melting, because of being mixed with the salt – which explains why road crews are always using salt to de-ice roadways!

This was a super quick and simple experiment, but Tigger loved it. So I’ll count that as a homeschooling win. ๐Ÿ™‚

Tinker Crate >>

Filed Under: 2013-14 Curriculum, Homeschool Curriculum, Science

Comments

  1. Charmaine says

    March 4, 2014 at 8:12 am

    I agree most science experiments leave you high and dry in the supplies department, so we too don’t end up doing many of the experiments. Thanks for this one we’ll be giving it a try.

    Reply
  2. Charmaine says

    March 4, 2014 at 8:19 am

    I actually just found the last copy of the book on Amazon for a penny thanks for the share ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Selena@lookwerelearning says

      March 6, 2014 at 6:26 am

      Wow! That’s great! I think I paid $1 at Target, so you saved 99 percent! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  3. Lula B says

    July 13, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    I’m usually the same with supplies. Then again I’ve spent the years since we started homeschooling acquiring all sorts of bizarre supplies so sometimes i surprise myself. We don’t really have those kind of coffee tins here in the UK though, so I’ll have to improvise when we do your experiment!

    Reply
    • Selena Robinson says

      July 19, 2014 at 8:57 am

      LOL! Sometimes I go through our supply closet and I can’t even remember buying something. That’s a sign of a true homeschooling hoarder. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Thanks for visiting!

      Reply
  4. Ticia Adventures in Mommydom says

    August 3, 2014 at 1:46 am

    I’d probably forget to take the wrapper off too and wonder why it wasn’t working.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hurricane Unit Study - says:
    August 19, 2015 at 5:00 am

    […] Coffee Can Condensation Experiment: Look! We’re Learning! – Show your kids condensation in action with this easy science […]

    Reply
  2. 100 FUN Science Fair Project Ideas - Teach Beside Me says:
    June 13, 2019 at 10:08 am

    […] Easy Condensation Experiment – Look We’re Learning […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hi! I'm Selena, a teacher and a veteran homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
About Me Contact Terms of Use Privacy Policy Places I Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram
Homeschool Printables Unit Studies Shop the Store
Copyright ยฉ2023, Look! We're Learning!. All Rights Reserved. Design by Pixel Me Designs
62 shares