Cast in place concrete

Cast in place concrete is basically like making a big cake, but with cement instead of flour and water. Think of it like baking a cake in a mold that's already in the oven, instead of putting the batter in a separate mold and then transferring it to the oven.

When construction workers use cast in place concrete, they pour liquid concrete (the "batter") into a mold that's usually made of wood, steel, or plastic (the "mold"). The mold is typically shaped like the thing they're building, so it could be a wall, a foundation, or even a whole building.

Once the concrete is in the mold, the workers have to make sure it's level and smooth. This is like making sure the batter on your cake is spread evenly in the pan so it bakes properly. They might use tools like trowels (kind of like spatulas) to smooth things out.

Then the concrete needs to dry and harden. This is where it gets a little tricky, because you can't just pop the mold in the oven like you would with a cake - concrete needs more time to dry.

Sometimes the workers will add chemicals to the concrete mixture to help it dry faster. And if it's really hot outside, they might cover the mold with plastic or tarps to keep the concrete from drying out too quickly.

Once the concrete is fully dry and hard, the mold can be removed. Voila! You have a solid piece of concrete that's the exact shape and size you need.

So basically, cast in place concrete is like making a giant cake, but instead of baking it in a separate pan like you would with a regular cake, you pour the batter into the mold and it hardens in place.