Collapsing Can Lab

Another lab we did was the collapsing can lab. In this lab, we had water in a soda can and we heated it over a burner. We waited until steam started to form and it pushed air out of the can. This took a while because it takes time for the molecules in the water to heat up and start moving around fast to form steam. Once we saw the steam rise, we immediately put it in a bowl of ice water. And when we did, the can collapsed. What really happend was that, like I said before, when we heated up the can, the molecules gradually started moving, forming steam and forcing air out of the can. The steam exerts the same air pressure in the can as it does outside of the can, balancing the air pressure. As the molecules move faster, the temperature of the water increases. We know that when water heats up, and it has reached its boiling point, the water molecules start to expand and steam begins to form. At this point, the water molecules are moving around at a high rate. Once we put the can in the ice water, the molecules experience a sudden temperature change, a sudden drop. They go from being hot to being really cold, from steam back into water really quickly. Now the air pressure inside the can is different from the air pressure outside of the can. When the molecules hit the water, they instantly stop moving fast and slow down. The molecules condense, and it is like a vacuum inside the can. There is no air pressure inside the can like there is outside of it. Now the can can't possibly resist the air pressure. This causes the can to finally collapse.