Certified Can Crusher!

For the upcoming school year, I was blessed to participate in Project MAST at Jackson State University. I can't believe that we are halfway done with our summer sessions. I have enjoyed all of them so far but there was one that was really memorable. The story starts when I was a little girl. So here goes....

Once upon a time when I was younger, the best thing about finishing a soda was crushing the can. Lazy summers, my favorite peach soda and can crushing competitions with my cousins. Those were the days! Now there are a few ways you can crush a can.... with your foot, your hand, or even with your head. Fast forward to the future, and I learn that there is one other way: with cold water. No, you don't throw it in cold water, there is a process. I learned that process from Hogue & Sarquis, my Chemistry instructors for this summer. For this activity, you would need a container of ice water, a soft drink can and a hot plate. First, you pour a small amount of water into a soft drink can and place the can on the hot plate. Second, you heat the can until the water boils, while watching for evidence of water vapor condensing above the can. Be careful not to let the can get dry and after a few minutes, use a pair of tongs to lift the soda can from the hot plate. Next, in one motion, invert the can over and into the ice water. Finally, lift the soda can from the water and it will crush instantly. Awesome! The explanation is rather lengthy and involves the phase change in water, differences in pressure inside and outside of the can, and the reverse phase change of water. Ultimately, it is the greater pressure outside the can that pushes its sides in. Key concepts involved in the lesson include atmospheric pressure, condensation, gas laws (Charles's) and phase changes.

Hogue and Sarquis were excellent instructors. In addition to this activity, they showed us many demonstrations that are applicable to Biology. What worked best for me, is that they allowed us the opportunity to carry out the investigations as if we were students in order to help us successfully implement them with our own students. I definitely plan to use many of the demonstrations during my inquiry and observation lessons in the upcoming school year. I took a lot of notes during the sessions, but my concern was that I would not be able to repeat their demonstrations. For this one, I got the chance to actually do it, so I think that I'll do just fine and my students will definitely enjoy all that I learned. Please check out the video of my can crushing skills above. J