The Background: Why this Question?
Clouds live in the background of our lives. We look at them, makes pictures out of them, but we rarely think about them critically. We chose the question, "What is a cloud?" because we were curious to see how people generally view and explain clouds. While most of us learned about the water cycle at some point in our early education, many questions, such as "What makes a cloud float?" has rarely been defined.
Common Misconceptions
Prior to the interviews, we researched common misconceptions related to clouds.
Misconception 1: What is a cloud made of?
Misconception 2: Where does a cloud come from?
Misconception 3: How does a cloud float?
Misconception 1: What is a cloud made of?
- Clouds are formed by vapor in kettles.
- Clouds are made of cotton, wool, or smoke.
- Clouds are bags of water.
- Clouds are made of cold, heat, fog, or snow.
- Clouds are water vapor.
- Clouds are made of pillows.
Misconception 2: Where does a cloud come from?
- Clouds come from somewhere above the sky.
- The sun boils the sea to create water vapor.
- Clouds form by boiling vapors traveling into the air.
- Empty clouds are refilled by the sea.
Misconception 3: How does a cloud float?
- Clouds move because we move.
- Gas makes things lighter.
- Clouds just go around the Earth.
- Air pressure keeps clouds in the air.