P5 Science Lesson: Condensation

Lesson Overview

Built from the 18-page Community Gallery PDF and strengthened into a web lesson with clear student tasks, teacher moves, and an embedded simulation.

Learning Outcomes

Students explain condensation as a change of state from gas to liquid, identify when it happens, and recognise examples in daily life.

Success Criteria

I can state the source of water vapour, name the cooler surface, say that heat is lost, and explain where droplets form.

Suggested Timing

45 to 60 minutes: 8 min engage, 12 min experiment, 12 min simulation, 12 min CLC practice, 6 min quiz and exit pass.

Water vapour
gas state

Loses heat
on a cooler surface

Water droplets
liquid state

Water vapour particles moving towards a cool blue surface where liquid droplets have formed — **Look closely at the process** Water vapour comes into contact with a cooler surface, loses heat, and becomes liquid water droplets.

A cold glass of ice water with water droplets on the outside surface — **Cold glass example** The droplets are on the outside surface. They come from water vapour in the surrounding air, not from the water inside the glass.

Misconception Check: Cold Glass

When water droplets appear on the outside of a cold glass, where did those droplets mainly come from?

Physical Experiment

Use this before the simulation so students have a real observation to connect with the digital model.

Materials

Transparent cup or beaker, preferably with a cover.
Cold water or ice water, room-temperature water, and hot water handled by the teacher.
Paper towel, thermometer if available, and observation sheet.

Safety

The teacher pours hot water and keeps it away from the table edge.
Students observe without touching hot containers.
Wipe spills quickly so the surface stays dry and safe.

Predict

Ask: Which cup will have the most water droplets? Where will the droplets appear: outside, inside, under the cover, or nowhere?

Observe

Compare cold water, room-temperature water, and hot water. Students record both the amount and location of droplets.

Reason

Prompt students to link each observation to temperature difference, cooler surface, water vapour, heat loss, and droplet formation.

Set-up	Prediction	Observation	Science Reason
Cold water in cup	Where will droplets form?	Look for droplets on the outside surface.	Water vapour in surrounding air touches the cooler outer cup, loses heat, and condenses.
Room-temperature water	Will droplets form?	Usually no clear droplets.	There is little or no temperature difference, so condensation is not observed.
Hot water with cover	Where will droplets form?	Look inside the cup and under the cover.	Water vapour from hot water touches a cooler inner surface or cover, loses heat, and condenses.

Interactive Observation

Use the simulation from the folder to repeat the investigation and make the temperature difference visible.

1. Contact
Water vapour touches a cooler surface.

2. Heat loss
Heat moves from the warmer water vapour to the cooler surface.

3. Condensation
The water vapour changes into liquid water droplets.

Condensation Simulation

Try 5°C, 30°C, and 70°C. Compare the water droplet locations and the results table.

Open in new tab

Before Clicking

Write a prediction: Which temperature will produce droplets, and where will they appear?

During Clicking

Say what you see before reading the explanation. Look carefully at the outer glass, inner glass, and cover.

After Clicking

Use the results table to connect temperature difference with droplet formation.

Compare Cold Water and Hot Water

Both cases show condensation, but the source of water vapour and the droplet location are different.

Cold Water, 5°C

Water vapour source: surrounding air.
Cooler surface: outside of the glass.
Droplet location: outside surface.

Hot Water, 70°C

Water vapour source: hot water in the glass.
Cooler surface: inside wall and underside of cover.
Droplet location: inside/cover surface.

Explain one similarity and one difference.

Explain With CLC

The PDF uses the CLC technique. This version makes it explicit and repeatable for primary school students.

Foggy spectacles with tiny water droplets on the lenses near a bus stop and classroom entrance — **Foggy spectacles** Ask: Where did the water vapour come from? Which surface was cooler? Where did the droplets form?

An open warm lunchbox with steam rising and water droplets on the underside of the cover — **Warm lunchbox cover** Water vapour from the warm food touches the cooler underside of the cover, loses heat, and condenses there.

CLC Sentence Frame

C

Comes into contact: Water vapour from _____ comes into contact with the cooler surface of _____.

L

Loses heat: The water vapour loses heat to the cooler surface.

C

Condenses: It condenses into water droplets on _____.

Teacher Model: Foggy Spectacles

Water vapour from the surrounding air comes into contact with the cooler surface of the spectacles. The water vapour loses heat and condenses into water droplets on the spectacles, making them look foggy.

Your Turn: Lunchbox Cover

Mum packed a warm lunchbox for Siti. When Siti opened it, she saw water droplets on the underside of the cover.

C - Comes into contact L - Loses heat C - Condenses

Daily-Life Extension

Choose one example from home or school, then explain it using CLC.

Dew on grass in the morning.
Fog on a cool window.
Water droplets on the outside of a cold drink.
Water droplets under a pot lid or food container cover.

My Photo Evidence

Add a picture of condensation from home or school, then use it to write your CLC explanation.

Choose a photo

Paste a copied photo here

Student-selected condensation evidence preview

Show a strong sample answer for the lunchbox

Water vapour from the warm food comes into contact with the cooler underside of the lunchbox cover. The water vapour loses heat and condenses into water droplets on the underside of the cover.

Check Understanding

A short 4-mark quiz based on the PDF, with instant feedback for independent practice.

Q1. Condensation is the process where water vapour changes into what?

Ice Water droplets Steam

Q2. Condensation is most likely when water vapour touches a surface that is...

Cooler Brighter Rougher

Q3. In the cold-water set-up, where do the droplets mainly come from?

Water vapour in the surrounding air The glass changing into water Ice escaping through the glass

Q4. Which CLC explanation is strongest?

Water appears because the cup is wet. Water vapour touches a cooler surface, loses heat, and condenses into water droplets. Coldness pushes water out through the cup.

Exit Pass

I have learnt...

Still Wondering

I still need to understand...

Teacher Notes

The earlier improvement ideas have been embedded into the lesson at the point where they support student thinking.

Misconception check

Now placed after the cold-glass image so students confront the common idea that droplets leaked from inside the cup.

Student photo evidence

Now placed inside the daily-life extension so students can connect their own condensation example to a CLC explanation.

Visible heat transfer

Now placed before the simulation so students see contact, heat loss, and droplet formation before testing the three temperatures.

Cold-vs-hot comparison

Now placed after the simulation to help students compare the same condensation process across different sources and surfaces.

Source basis: P5 PLT - Condensation_Final - Submission to Community Library.pdf, including the learning outcome, simulation activity, CLC explanation frame, daily-life examples, quiz, and exit pass.