What Melts Ice the Fastest? A Hands-on Science Experiment

It's ICY FUN WEEK!

I can't think of a better way to beat this FL heat and humidity

(besides taking a dip in the pool of course).

It's been awhile since we had fun with a science experiment so I really wanted to incorporate some investigation, experimentation and discovery into our ICY FUN WEEK.

What Melts Ice the Fastest?

A Hands-on Science Experiment

What We Used:

1. hot water

2. salt

3. sugar

4. vinegar

5. baking soda

Prep: Freeze cups of water - 1 for each substance used.

What to Do:

1. Remove ice from cups and put on a dish or tray (be sure it's deep enough to retain the melting ice water).

2. Have substances to be used readily available along with spoons and droppers for pouring. We used measuring scoops and turkey basters. To begin we discussed what we were to do and the Lil Divas made predictions over which items they thought would melt the ice the fastest.

3. Have child(ren) add substances to each ice block and note the immediate reactions. Did it affect the ice? Is it penetrating? Did it cause the ice to melt? 

4. Let sit for approx. 5 minutes. Turn the ice blocks over and repeat - add the substances and discuss any reactions.

5. Let sit for approx. another 5 minutes and discuss what has happened to the ice. Which one is melting the fastest? Slowest? Discuss any noticeable changes - cracks, holes, etc in the ice.

Our Results:

The Lil Divas found that hot water melted our ice the fastest, followed by vinegar, salt (which penetrated the ice and caused lots of holes and cracks) and then sugar (it also penetrated the ice and caused cracks but not nearly as pronounced as the salt). The baking soda had very little effect on the ice. It was the one block of ice that remained pretty intact, melting mostly due to exposure to the heat in the room and the other liquids in the pan.

The Lil Divas enjoyed our icy experiment. We ended up watching the ice melt to its complete liquid form at their request, while they continued to scoop the different substances on the ice. I think they rather enjoyed the concoction the whole thing was making since we inevitably ended up with some fizz from the baking soda and vinegar being so close together and mingling in the pan.

Be sure to discuss if the predictions made were correct and what was learned. The Lil Divas were quite surprised that baking soda had little to no effect on the ice and that sugar did in fact make cracks in the ice. They initially thought the sugar would have little effect and that the baking soda would - I think that stemmed from all of our past baking soda & vinegar experiments.  

Do you know of any other substances that have an interesting effect on ice?

Bern