Fifth Grade
Worksheets
How Do Spray Cans Work?
Have you ever wondered how spray cans work? A spray can has a product inside it you can use. Many different kinds of products today can be found in spray cans. Cooking oil, paint, bug spray, sunscreen, and hair spray are just a few. Fire extinguishers, too, are really just big spray cans. Spray cans dispense products that come out in liquid form like bug spray. They can dispense a vapor like deodorant. The product can even be foamy like shaving cream.
Spray cans work by using matter that can quickly change from liquid to gas. Spray cans dispense a liquid under pressure. The pressure comes from a gas that is inside the can. This gas is called the propellant. Inside the can under high pressure, the propellant is mainly a liquid. It evaporates into a gas easily when pressure is reduced.
You may know that liquids always have the same volume. They always take up the same amount of space. When a liquid changes into a gas, its volume expands. When the spray button is pushed, the propellant evaporates. This creates high pressure above the liquid product.
