During the water cycle, water moves between land, the ocean, and the atmosphere. The Sun

heats water on Earth’s surface, causing the water to change to water vapor. This process is

called evaporation. Air containing water vapor rises until it comes into contact with cooler air.

The water vapor then condenses, changing back into liquid water. The water droplets condense

around small particles in the air, forming a cloud. Over time, the water droplets may join

together and become too heavy to be held up in a cloud. These water droplets fall to the

ground in the form of rain, or other types of precipitation.

Teacher’s Experiment

April’s teacher set up an experiment to model the formation of rain. She:

 carefully poured 250 milliliters (mL) of boiling water into a measuring cup. April noticed

steam rising from the boiling water.

 placed a thermometer into the boiling water and measured the temperature of the boiling

water as 100 degrees Celsius (°C).

 placed 75 grams (g) of ice into an empty tuna can.

 held the can 5 centimeters (cm) above the cup of boiling water.

At 1 minute, April observed that small drops of water had formed on the bottom of the can. At

3 minutes, some drops of water had become big enough that they fell from the can’s surface

April then repeated the experiment, but with one change. She:

 poured 250 mL of water into the measuring cup. She measured the temperature of the

water as 25°C.

 placed 75 g of ice into an empty tuna can and held the can 5 cm above the cup of water.

At 1 minute, April observed only very small drops of water forming on the bottom of the can.

April continued to observe the bottom of the can for 3 minutes. During that time, the drops did

not grow bigger or fall from the can.

Six: Compare the teacher’s experiment to April’s experiment. Which of the following

statements best explains the reason the drops on the bottom of the tuna can were smaller

during April’s experiment?

A. The temperature of the water in the measuring cup was warmer.

B. The temperature of the water in the measuring cup was cooler.

C. The mass of ice added to the empty can was more.

D. The mass of ice added to the empty can was less.