Science Experiments / Week 3
Week 3 of 6
States of Matter and Materials
Big question
Why do some things stay cold longer than others?
- Ice Melt Insulation Challenge
- 45-60 minutes
This week follows the science loop
AskPredictTestObserveExplainImprove
The big idea
- Matter can be a solid, a liquid, or a gas.
- Ice melting is a state change - solid water turning into liquid water.
- Materials have properties, and some materials slow down heat better than others.
Everything around you is matter, and matter usually comes in three forms: solid, liquid, and gas. Water is special because you can see it as all three - ice is solid, water is liquid, and steam is gas. When ice melts, it is not disappearing; it is changing from a solid into a liquid. That change happens because heat moves into the ice from the warmer room. This week you will try to slow that down. Different materials - foil, cotton, a paper towel - let heat move through them at different speeds. A material that slows heat down is called an insulator, and finding the best one is your job.
Words to know
- Solid
- Matter that keeps its own shape, like an ice cube.
- Liquid
- Matter that flows and takes the shape of its container, like water.
- Gas
- Matter that spreads out to fill its space, like steam or air.
- State change
- When matter changes form, like a solid melting into a liquid.
- Insulation
- A material that slows down heat moving from one place to another.
- Heat
- Energy that moves from warmer things to cooler things.
Materials
- 3 or more ice cubes that are the same size
- Small cups or containers, one per material
- Materials to test: foil, cotton or a sock, a paper towel, foam or a plastic bag
- A plate or tray to catch melt water
- A timer
Safety
- Ice is very cold - do not hold it against your skin for a long time.
- Melt water makes floors slippery, so wipe up drips right away.
- Keep the cups on a tray so water does not spread everywhere.
Experiment: Ice Melt Insulation Challenge
Predict first
Before you touch any materials, write down what you think will happen in this experiment - and why. Making a prediction first is what turns building into science. You will compare your prediction to what you actually observe.
Steps
- 1
Ask: Which material will keep an ice cube frozen the longest?
- 2
Wrap each ice cube in a different material. Leave one ice cube with nothing wrapped around it - that one is your control to compare against.
- 3
Predict: Rank the materials from best to worst at keeping the ice cold. Write your ranking down.
- 4
Test fairly: Use same-size ice cubes, put them all in the same room, and start them at the same time.
- 5
Observe: Check every 10 minutes. Notice which cubes are melting fastest and which are still solid.
- 6
Record which material kept its ice frozen the longest, and how much melt water each one made.
- 7
Improve: Take your best material and add a second layer, or combine two materials, and test if the ice lasts even longer.
Why it happens
The room is warmer than the ice, and heat always moves from warmer things to cooler things. When heat moves into the ice, it gives the solid water enough energy to change into liquid water - that is melting. Good insulators like cotton and foam are full of trapped air, and trapped air is very slow at passing heat along. So the ice inside stays cold longer. Thin, tightly packed materials let heat through faster, so that ice melts sooner.
How engineers use this
Engineers use insulation everywhere: inside coolers and thermoses to keep things cold or hot, inside the walls of houses to save energy, and in winter coats to keep your body heat in. Choosing the right material for the job is exactly what you did in this challenge.
What did you notice?
Look back at your prediction and your results, then talk these through together.
- Which material was the best insulator? Which was the worst?
- Why do you think the bare ice cube (the control) matters?
- Where does the heat that melts the ice come from?
- Which of these materials do you have in your winter clothes?
Reflect
Write which material kept the ice frozen longest and one sentence explaining why you think it worked best.
Mini challenge
Design a mini 'cooler' out of the materials you have that keeps an ice cube frozen the longest.
Want to go further?
Test whether an ice cube melts faster in a sunny spot or a shady spot. Keep the cubes the same size.
Before you finish
- I set up same-size ice cubes with different materials and one bare control.
- I predicted which material would work best.
- I checked and recorded the melting over time.
- I can name the solid-to-liquid state change and explain melting.
- I improved my best insulator and tested again.
Finished the experiment and your reflection? Mark this week complete to track your progress through the 6-week course.
Lab journal
Write your own science notes as you go - they follow the same loop you used this week. Notes are saved on this device only; nothing is sent anywhere. You can also print this lesson and write by hand.
What did you want to find out?
What did you think would happen, and why?
What one thing did you change to keep it a fair test?
What did you see, hear, or measure?
Use what you noticed as your evidence.
What would you change to make it work better?
Draw what happened
Sketch your experiment or your improved design, and circle the part you changed.