This inquiry-based Activity illustrates kinetics concepts using the rate of the flow of water through several funnels made from plastic beverage bottles and rubber stoppers with varyings numbers and sizes of holes. The amount of time it takes different volumes of water to pass through different funnels is recorded. A graph of time and volume data from the Activity results in a curve whose slope equals the rate of water flow. Students are asked to anticipate what conditions control the rate of water flow, and are given a variety of stoppers to test their hypothesis. Sample experimental data is included as online supplemental material. Data is shown for the emptying rate of 1) one-, two-, and three-hole stoppers; 2) different hole sizes for stoppers; and 3) different column heights for the same initial volume of water.
Supplement
Flow rate data from a similar investigation are available.
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