SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT
Does water temperature affect a tornado’s size?
Stephen Reffner | Mrs. Mcnees| Syracuse Jr. High
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
• Will a tornado spin longer in cooler or hotter water?
RESEARCH
Facts:
– As water get hotter its molecules get farther and farther apart which allows
them to move more freely.
– As water get cooler its molecules get closer together which restricts their
ability to move a little bit.
– The first thing a tornado needs to form is a thunderstorm.
Citations:
– http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/anmlies.html, Martiln Chaplin, November 28,
2012
– http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/temperature.html, Howard Perlman, January 10,
2011
– http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=121279, 123helpme, June 13, 2012
HYPOTHESIS
• If the water is warmer, then the tornado will spin longer because it
will be easier for the water to move around due to the molecules
being more sporadic.
PROCEDURE: MATERIALS
• 5 Pieces of glass (8”x 8”)
• Super glue (To glue the glass together)
• Metal plate (8”x 8”)
• Computer Cooling fan
• Stopwatch
• Cold water (10°C-13°C)
• Hot water 62°C-65°C)
• Pen/Pencil
• Scientific notebook
PROCEDURE: STEPS
1. Pour ½ gallon of hot water into the glass chamber.
2. Turn the computer cooling fan on for 10 seconds.
3. Turn the fan off and start the stopwatch.
4. Record how long the tornado spins for.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you get enough data.
6. Pour ½ gallon of cool water into the glass chamber.
7. Repeat steps 2-4 until you get enough data.
VARIABLES
• Constants: How long the computer cooling fan was turned on for.
• Controlled variables: The hottest and coldest temperatures as well as
the fastest and slowest times.
• Independent (manipulated) variable: The Temperature of the water.
• Dependent (measured) variable: How many seconds the tornado spun
for.
Temperature
Time
DATA/OBSERVATIONS
Hot Water
63.4°C
30.4 s.
56.8°C
29.1 s.
53.7°C
26.6 s.
51.5°C
23.3 s.
48.7°C
20.1 s.
46.6°C
16.7 s.
45.3°C
14.0 s.
Cold Water
13.0°C
10.4 s.
14.05°C
10.9 s.
14.5°C
11.2 s.
14.9°C
11.8 s.
15.2°C
12.2 s.
15.5°C
12.6 s.
15.8°C
12.9 s.
CONCLUSION
• With this experiment I have discovered that if water is warm, then,
the tornado will spin longer and if the water is cooler, then, the
tornado will spin for a shorter amount of time. A tornado will spin
longer with warmer water than it will with cooler water. The data
supports the hypothesis because when the water was warmer the
tornado spun for a longer amount of time.