What Makes Ice Melt Fastest?

This lesson plan is designed to investigate the effect of four different common household substances on the melting point of ice. It provides good background information in the introduction and clear directions for completing the experiment. Consider using this as a demonstration of a well-designed experiment prior to letting students design their own experiments. You may replace the electronic kitchen balance with a small classroom scale. All other materials and equipment are readily available in most homes. Some of the language may not be grade appropriate.

Weblink address (URL):

What Makes Ice Melt Fastest?

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives:

Objective:

To determine which added material will make ice melt fastest.

Essential and guiding questions:

What is freezing point depression? When does it happen?
How are solutions made?
Which of the suggested test substances are soluble in water?
Which of the suggested test substances are insoluble in water?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Applying

Helpful Hints

Materials:

Identical bowls or saucers (4)
Ice cubes (12). They should all be the same size and shape.
Salt (¾ tsp.)
Sugar (¾ tsp.)
Sand (¾ tsp.)
¼ teaspoon measuring spoon
Timer or clock
Refrigerator. You will want an empty shelf that can hold all four bowls, unstacked, at the same time.
50 mL graduated cylinder, or smaller size.
Large cup with a spout, such as some measuring cups. Alternatively you could use a funnel that fits in the graduated cylinder.
Optional: Masking tape and a permanent marker for labeling the bowls
Lab notebook

References

Contributors:

Originator:

Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation

eduToolbox® is a resource-sharing portal developed by the Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation with collaborative support and funding from the Tennessee Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education's Math & Science Partnership program.