It's tornado season here in Ontario. We normally don’t hear many stories in the news about tornadoes in this part of the world, however, they can and do happen here. We recently saw a taste of Mother Nature’s fury when a tornado touched down in Leamington causing millions of dollars in damage. Also, last year a tornado left a path of destruction in Vaughan.
But, what is the science behind tornadoes? What causes them? Well, here is an easy experiment that you and your family can do at home! A tornado science project such as this will demonstrate the funnel’s behaviour.
Courtesy of Cool-Science-Projects.com
1. Take one of the bottles and fill it halfway with water.
2. Take the cap off of the other bottle and place it on top of the half-filled one so that the top of each bottle is touching..
3. Tape the two bottles together in this position. Try to avoid gaps between the bottles when taping to prevent leakage. You might need quite a bit of tape.
4. Once the two bottles are secure, they should look roughly like an hourglass.
5. Now, hold the taped section with one hand, and the bottom bottle that has the water with the other hand, and turn the bottles over so that the one with the water is on top.
6. Swirl the bottles a few times and a funnel should form.
There you have it! A tornado in a bottle. But, instead of air, we use water.
And while you are chatting with your kids about tornadoes, why not discuss some safety tips?