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Ice Melting Investigation

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Ice Melting Investigation

Find out whether ice melts faster in a warm place or a cool place. You will compare two similar ice cubes and keep the test fair. Work with an adult when handling water or using a thermometer. Dry up spills straight away.

Plan the test

Use two similar ice cubes, two matching dishes, a timer and a thermometer. Put one dish in a warm place and one in a cool place. Choose two locations with the same sunlight and airflow; the only difference should be temperature. Check both cubes every 2 minutes and record how much ice remains. Stop when both have melted. Ask an adult to help choose safe places.

1.Before you start, predict which ice cube will melt first: the one in the warm place or the one in the cool place. Give one reason for your prediction.

2.Identify the variable you will change (the independent variable) and one thing you will keep the same to make this a fair test. The two locations should have the same sunlight and airflow and differ only in temperature.

3.At the start, an ice cube is in which state of matter?

Solid
Liquid
Gas

Record what happens

At each check, describe the ice left in each dish (for example: whole, smaller, or melted). If you have a thermometer, record the temperature too. Your results may differ from another group's.

Time (min)

Warm place: ice and temperature

Cool place: ice and temperature

Which has less ice?

4.In your investigation, what did you observe about the ice in the warm place compared with the ice in the cool place? Use a detail from your table.

5.What change of state occurs as ice melts?

6.Choose the best description of particles in liquid water.

They are close together and can move past one another.
They are locked in fixed places and only vibrate.
They are very far apart and move freely in all directions.

7.Explain how heating affects the particles as ice melts. Include what happens to their movement.

8.Suppose the warm-place cube melted in 8 minutes and the cool-place cube melted in 14 minutes. How many minutes earlier did the warm-place cube melt? Show how you worked it out.

9.Hudson says, 'The warm place made the ice melt faster.' What evidence from a fair test would support her claim?

10.Name one change that could make a repeat investigation more reliable.