The Digital Bits Science Labs are fun science experiments for young children. Kids, make sure you have an adult's permission before trying any of these science experiments.
Digital Bits Science Lab
Science Experiments for Kids, Parents and Teachers
Learn about volume and space with ice water
Description: Ice plus water may not mix the way you think.
Equipment needed:
A glass. It should have straight sides, not angled.
Water
A bunch of ice
The Digital Bits Science Lab Experiment:
This experiment shows us how water and ice and volume and density have an interesting relationship.
Get a glass and put several ice cubes in it. (The glass should have straight sides – angled sides will get interfere with the ice and affect the experiment.)
Fill the glass up with water, almost to the top. Add a few more ice cubes. And one or two on top of those. You’re trying to get a pile of cubes suspended in the water, above the rim of the glass. The water should be as full as you can get it without spilling over the rim of the glass:
What do you think will happen when the ice melts? The quick answer for some might be that the ice will melt, and that extra water will spill over the rim of the glass, overflowing the glass capacity.
It won’t.
Ice takes up more space than unfrozen, liquid water. The ice in the water displaces the water inside the glass. As the ice melts, that water and the surrounding water move to take up the newly-available space.
The perceived volume of water looks different when a bunch of the water is frozen. Knowing these differences between water and ice can help you better understand how much you’re drinking next time you drink ice water!
Other articles related to this topic:
- Introduction to refraction
- Food coloring fireworks with oil-water separation
- See refraction in a glass of water
- Learn about air pressure from a leaky bottle
- Experiment with inertia and momentum: The spinning egg