Ice+Ice+Baby

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Title
Ice Ice Baby

**Broad Question** Does the shape of an ice cube affect the time that it takes to melt?

**Specific Question** Does the surface area of an ice cube affect the time that it takes the ice cube to melt?

**Hypothesis** It is hypothesized that an ice cube with a surface area of 40 cm^2 will take a longer time to melt than an ice cube with a surface area of 32 cm^2.

This hypothesis is based on a research paper. Heat flows through the air, into ice cubes. With a larger surface area, it is going to take a longer time for the heat to circulate through the ice cube, whereas with a smaller surface area, it is going to take a shorter amount of time for the heat to circulate through the ice cube. Heat will cause the ice cube to melt, changing from a solid to a liquid.

**Graph of Hypothesis**

Independent Variable:
Surface area of ice cube (115 cm^2, 77 cm^2, 66 cm^2)

Dependent Variable:
Time it takes ice cube to melt (seconds)

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

 * Volume of water in each cardboard container
 * Room temperature (65 degrees Fahrenheit)
 * Water source (tap water)
 * Surface that ice cube melts on (kitchen table)
 * Freezer temperature (0 degrees Fahrenheit)
 * Method of measurement for calculating surface area of ice cube (cm^2)
 * Method of measurement for calculating melting time for ice cube (seconds)
 * Light source (one 60 watt light bulb)
 * Procedure used for each ice cube (found below)
 * Time period ice cube is in freezer (three days)
 * Width and length of 10 cardboard containers for "Ice Cube A" ##
 * Width and length of 10 cardboard containers for "Ice Cube B" ##
 * Width and length of 10 cardboard containers for "Ice Cube C" ##


 * 1) = Notice the instruction of cutting 7 centimeters off of the top of each cardboard container in the procedure; this is merely to make pouring tap water into the cardboard container easier, and isn't a crucial aspect of the experiment. As long as 100 mL of water is capable of settling at the bottom of each size cardboard container, the amount of cardboard cut off, if any, does not matter.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation
__**Volume-**__ The amount of space inside a solid figure (cube, sphere, cylinder, etc.).
 * __Surface Area-__** The total area of the surface of a three-dimensional object.
 * __Absorbent-__** Capable of soaking up a liquid easily.
 * __Rectangular Prism-__** A solid figure with six rectangular shaped faces.

Potential Problems And Solutions

 * __Problem:__ ** Finding containers with different surface areas, but the same volumes.


 * __Solution:__ ** An idea was proposed by Mr. Yahna. He stated that instead of finding specific containers with different surface areas, but the same volumes, the experimenter could just find different cardboard containers and using a graduated cylinder, fill the containers with the same amount of tap water.


 * __Problem:__ ** Accurately deciding when the ice cube has completely melted.


 * __Solution__: ** It was decided to place a dark absorbent __cloth__ under the melting ice cubes, so that when the time came that the ice cubes were almost completely melted, it was easier for the experimenter to see the remaining solid.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns
There are not many safety or environment concerns that could potentially come from this experiment. While cutting the tops off of the cardboard containers, be careful not to accidentally cut yourself. Safe, slow, and cautious cutting could prevent this from happening.

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Experimental Design
During this experiment, the time it takes ice cubes with different surface areas to melt will be measured. The experimenter will run this at the Jones residence, on the kitchen table located directly under a 60 watt light bulb. This experiment will be run on the following days: Saturday March 2/Tuesday March 5, Saturday March 9/Tuesday March 12, and Saturday March 16/Tuesday March 19. On the first day, Saturday March 2, the experiment will be run with the ten half pint cardboard containers. After cutting the tops off of the 10 half pint cardboard containers with 7 inch scissors, they will be filled with 100 mL of tap water, and will then be placed 3 centimeters apart in the kitchen freezer for three days. On Tuesday March 5, the ice cubes will be removed from the freezer and and will be set 5 centimeters apart on the kitchen table (covered with dark absorbent cloth) to melt. Stopwatches will be started for each ice cube as they are placed on the dark absorbent cloth. Next, the surface area (cm^2) of a single ice cube will be calculated and recorded in science notebook. Every hour, the experimenter will hold a camera 1 foot above the melting ice, and take video(s) and/or picture(s), and every 45 minutes will make and record observations. Once all of the half pint ice cubes have melted, stopwatches have been stopped, and results have been recorded, materials will be cleaned up. On Saturday March 9, the experiment will begin with ten 1 quart cardboard containers, and on Saturday March 16, the experiment will begin with ten half gallon cardboard containers.

Resources and Budget Table
Width: 9.5 cm Length: 9.5 cm || From Mr. Yahna (science teacher) || Width: 7.6 cm Length: 7.6 cm || From several different people (teachers, parents, etc.) || Width: 7 cm Length: 7 cm || From Mr. Yahna (science teacher) || Length: 5.94 cm (58.6 mm) Width: 0.93 cm (9.3 mm) Weight: 4.8 ounces (137 grams) || Borrowed from Mom || Height: 52 cm || $15.99 (found at JCPenney) || Width: 105 cm Length: 145 cm || Owned prior to experiment || Height: 21 cm || Owned prior to experiment || Height: 45.7 cm || Owned prior to experiment || 100mL || Borrowed from Mr. Yahna (science teacher) || (found at Walmart) || Height: 17.8 cm || Owned prior to experiment ||
 * ** __Item Name/Quantity__ ** || ** __Description__ ** || ** __Size__ ** || ** __Cost__ ** ||
 * Ten Half Gallon Cardboard Containers || * “Tropicana Pure Premium”
 * Orange juice cartons
 * White
 * Dirty on bottoms || Height: 24.1 cm
 * Ten 1 Quart Cardboard Containers || * “Hannaford Light Cream”
 * White
 * Dirty on bottoms || Height: 20.3 cm
 * Ten Half Pint Cardboard Containers || * “Vitamin D Milk; homogenized”
 * White
 * Dirty on bottoms || Height: 8.9 cm
 * One iPhone Camera || * iPhone-4th generation
 * White glass
 * Retina display 3.5-inch (diagonal)
 * Display-5-megapixel iSight camera
 * LED Flash
 * New || Height: 11.42 cm (115.2 mm)
 * Three Dark Absorbent Cloths || * Black
 * “JCPenney Home”
 * 50% cotton/50% polyester
 * Scraggly ends || Length: 120 cm
 * One Kitchen Table || * “Special Crafters”
 * Maple wood
 * Good condition
 * Surrounded by 6 maple chairs || Height: 105 cm
 * One Notebook || * “School Smart”
 * Green science notebook
 * Graphing Paper (1/2cm x 1/2cm squares) || Length 27.3 cm
 * One Meter Stick || * Inches ( 39.37008) Centimeters (100)
 * Wood
 * Metal ends || 1 Meter || Owned prior to experiment ||
 * One Freezer || * “Whirlpool Gold”
 * Stainless steel front
 * Black painted aluminum sides
 * Spacious
 * 0 degrees Fahrenheit || Length: 182.9cm
 * Three 100 mL Graduated Cylinders || * Clear
 * Dirty || 22.9cm
 * One Pencil || * Number 2
 * Yellow
 * Sharp
 * Pink eraser
 * New || Height: 18.5 cm || $0.10
 * One Ruler || * “Staedtler-Mars” construction ruler
 * White/Black/Red/Blue
 * Three faces || Height: 30.48 cm || Owned prior to experiment ||
 * One Tablet (Timing App) || * Toshiba AT105-T108S
 * Purple/Black
 * “Timer Lite” app || Length: 26.7 cm
 * One Pair of Scissors || * “Westcott”
 * Blue
 * Silver bottom
 * Rusty || Height: 17.78 cm || Owned prior to experiment ||

Timeline:

 * Friday March 1:** A practice experiment is run with one of each size cardboard container: half pint, 1 quart, half gallon.
 * Saturday March 2/Tuesday March 5:** The experiment will be run with the ten half pint cardboard containers.
 * Saturday March 9/Tuesday March 12:** The experiment will be run with the ten 1 quart cardboard containers.
 * Saturday March 16/Tuesday March 19:** The experiment will be run with the ten half gallon cardboard containers.
 * Sunday March 17:** All data is recorded and placed in data table, all materials are cleaned up.

**Detailed Procedure**


 * 1) =Take picture(s) and/or video(s) of experimenter completing step


 * 1) Gather materials.
 * 2) Cut 7 centimeters off the top of the half pint cardboard container with 7 inch scissors. Keep the open topped cube, and recycle the part that was cut off. ##
 * 3) Repeat step 2 with the nine remaining half pint cardboard containers.
 * 4) Cut 7 centimeters off the top of the 1 quart cardboard container with 7 inch scissors. Keep the open topped cube, and recycle the part that was cut off. ##
 * 5) Repeat step 4 with the nine remaining 1 quart cardboard containers.
 * 6) Cut 7 centimeters off the top of the half gallon cardboard container with 7 inch scissors. Keep the open topped cube, and recycle the part that was cut off. ##
 * 7) Repeat step 6 with the nine remaining half gallon cardboard containers.
 * 8) Place the ten half pint cardboard containers on kitchen table.
 * 9) Fill ten graduated cylinders with 100 mL of tap water.
 * 10) Pour 100 mL of tap water into each cardboard container. ##
 * 11) Place ten cardboard cartons into kitchen freezer, 3 centimeters apart (0 degrees Fahrenheit).
 * 12) Leave cardboard cartons in the kitchen freezer for three days. ##
 * 13) Place ten 1 quart cardboard containers on kitchen table.
 * 14) Repeat steps 9-12.
 * 15) Place ten half gallon cardboard containers on kitchen table. ##
 * 16) Repeat steps 9-12.
 * 17) Cover kitchen table with a dark-colored absorbent cloth. ##
 * 18) Remove ten half pint cardboard containers from kitchen freezer. ##
 * 19) Rip the cardboard off of the ice cubes.
 * 20) Place ice cubes on top of the dark absorbent cloth, 5 centimeters apart. ##
 * 21) Start a stopwatch for each ice cube as they are set on top of the dark absorbent cloth.
 * 22) Measure the surface area of one ice cube with a ruler (cm^2). To find the surface area of a rectangular prism, use the formula that follows: 2(lh+wh+lw) where w is width, l is length, and h is height (see diagram). Record in science notebook. ##
 * 23) Make and record an observation about each ice cube every 45 minutes in science notebook.
 * 24) Holding camera 1 foot above the melting ice cubes, take one picture/video per hour using an iPhone camera.
 * 25) Stop stopwatch when each ice cube has completely melted.
 * 26) Make and record final observations in science notebook.
 * 27) Remove ten 1 quart cardboard containers from kitchen freezer.
 * 28) Repeat steps 17-26 with ten 1 quart cardboard containers using a separate dark absorbent cloth.
 * 29) Remove ten half gallon cardboard containers from kitchen freezer.
 * 30) Repeat steps 17-26 with ten half gallon cardboard containers using a separate dark absorbent cloth.
 * 31) Upon completion, clean up all materials.

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**Diagram**

[[image:gijo12-b-diagram2.jpg width="540" height="405" caption="Surface Area of Rectangular Prism Calculation"]]
For a more..well done picture, click on the following URL: []

More adept version of data table:
[] =Data Analysis=

All Raw Data

 * __Observations:__**


 * **Melting Time** || **115 cm^2** || **77 cm^2** || **66 cm^2** ||
 * 1 Hour || Large water puddles forming around ice cubes (absorbed by cloth) || Ice has barely melted || No sign of melting ||
 * 2 Hours || Ice approximately 1/2 original size || Small water puddles forming around ice cubes (absorbed by cloth) || Water puddles forming under bottom of ice cubes (absorbed by cloth) ||
 * 3 Hours || Melting slowed down, ice looks glossy || Melting is gradual || Small water droplets forming on top of ice cubes ||
 * 4 Hours || Ice is approximately 1/3 original size || Ice is approximately 2/3 original size || Water droplets disappeared ||
 * 5 Hours || Ice is melting at fast pace, .25 centimeter every 5 minutes || Large water droplets forming || Large water droplets forming on sides of ice cubes ||
 * 6 Hours || Ice cubes have almost all melted || Water droplets disappeared || Large puddles forming under ice cubes, large water droplets disappeared ||
 * 7 Hours || All ice cubes have completely melted || Ice approximately 1/2 original size || Ice is approximately 2/3 original size ||
 * 8 Hours ||  || All ice cubes have completely melted || Gradual melting, small water droplets forming on sides of ice cubes ||
 * 9 Hours ||  ||   || Ice is approximately 1/3 original size, puddles growing (absorbed by cloth) ||
 * 10 Hours ||  ||   || All ice cubes have completely melted ||

Photo List

 * Graduated cylinders being filled with 100 mL of tap water
 * One of each size ice cube being placed in the freezer
 * 115 cm^2 ice cubes on day 2 (in freezer)
 * Each ice cube being removed from the freezer
 * **Cardboard being ripped off of 77 cm^2 ice cube**
 * Surface area being calculated (for each ice cube)
 * 5 centimeters between each ice cube
 * **Progress of each cube every 45 minutes**
 * Remaining liquid once each ice cube has melted

(Those that are **bold** can be found under the "Photos" section of this wiki.

=Graphs=



Photos




Results
The average melting time for an ice cube with a surface area of 115 cm^2 was 18221 seconds. The average melting time for an ice cube with a surface area of 77 cm^2 was 28312 seconds, and the average melting time for an ice cube with a surface area of 66 cm^2 was 33315 seconds. An ice cube with a larger surface area took approximately half the amount of time to melt than an ice cube with a smaller surface area.

Conclusion
The experiment was designed to test the effect of surface area on the time it takes an ice cube to melt. The results show that the larger the surface area, the shorter the melting time. The average melting time for an ice cube with a surface area of 115 cm^2 was 18221 seconds, for an ice cube with a surface area of 77 cm^2 was 28312 seconds, and for an ice cube with a surface area of 66 cm^2 was 33315 seconds to melt.

Discussion
An experiment was conducted to determine if the surface area of an ice cube has an effect on the time that it takes it melt. From this experiment, it was discovered that an ice cube with a larger surface area will melt at a faster rate than an ice cube with a smaller surface area. The average melting time for an ice cube with a surface area of 115 cm^2 was 18221; for an ice cube with a surface area of 77 cm^2 was 28312 second; and for an ice cube with a surface area of 66 cm^2 was 33315 seconds.

It was hypothesized that an ice cube with a larger surface area will take longer to melt than an ice cube with a smaller surface area. This hypothesis was based on the following statement: heat flows through the air-it will take longer for heat to circulate through a larger ice cube than a smaller ice cube which causes it to melt.

All of the data collected during this experiment supported the following statement: when the independent variable (surface area) increased in size, the dependent variable (melting time) decreased in time. Something that made collecting data fairly simple, was the consistency in the melting times. The melting time for each surface area ranged, at the most, 600 seconds. Something that was similar about each ice cube, was the size of the puddles around them. When each ice cube was about halfway melted, the puddles around them were of the same size. When each ice cube finished melting, the puddles were, again, the same size. This makes sense because each ice cube had the same volume. There weren't many other patterns in the data.

An ice cube with a larger surface area will melt faster than an ice cube with a smaller surface area because of the surface area to volume ratio. The ice cube with the larger surface area has more exposure to the warm air, so more heat is being transferred into the ice cube, causing it to melt faster. Other scientists have run similar experiments to this, and the results have varied. For the most part, the results that other scientists found, correspond with the results from this experiment.

This experiment originally dealt with finding cardboard containers with three specific surface areas. This was much too difficult, so a few weeks into researching, Mr. Yahna proposed the idea of using different cardboard containers, and using a graduated cylinder to pour the same amount of tap water into each cardboard container. Another aspect of this experiment that wasn't 100% successful was the spacing between each ice cube on the kitchen table. Running the practice trial, the ice cubes were placed approximately two centimeters apart on the kitchen table. An hour into the melting time, puddles (absorbed by cloth) formed around each ice cube, invading the neighboring ice cube’s space. This liquid was warm due to the surrounding heat, which may have sped up the rate that the other ice cubes were melting at. The procedure was changed to spacing the ice cubes five centimeters apart instead of two, in hopes to give the cubes more space to melt.

To make this a better experiment, more organization of data would have helped greatly. For instance, creating a table to write down all of the trial data, averages, and surface areas would have made for an easier science fair project. Lastly, gathering a larger amount of provisions, such as cardboard containers, would have been helpful in making this experiment more accurate. With more supplies, more practice trials could have been run, enabling the experimenter to work out the kinks in the experiment.

In order to freeze the ice cubes, a "Kitchen Magic" freezer was used. The freezer was at 0 degrees Fahrenheit for each ice cube, and the ice cubes were evenly dispersed among the freezer compartments (three centimeters apart) for three days. Once the ice cubes were frozen and removed from the cardboard containers, stopwatches were used to keep track of the time each ice cube took to melt. This was measured and recorded in seconds.

The knowledge gained through this experiment could potentially benefit food businesses. In order to save resources, it is important to keep a large portion of food chilled. Based on the temperature of the region the food is in, the business may be wasting ice, or wasting food. With the results from this experiment, food businesses could make better and more accurate choices regarding the packaging of cold foods. They don’t want the ice to melt, resulting in the food going bad. This could help not only food businesses, but just society in general. Saving resources is something that is often taken for granted.

Future experiments/questions that could build upon the knowledge that was gained through this experiment consist of: does the shape of an ice cube affect how fast it melts? In this experiment, ice cubes with different shapes, for instance a star, sphere, and square could be tested to see which of the three melts at the fastest rate. Although these experiments don’t strike a given person as “interesting,” in the long run, they really could help businesses and homes, as mentioned above. It would be interesting to see if the results from that experiment would correspond and support the results from this experiment. Another interesting experiment to run could be measuring the amount of time it takes boiling water to solidify in a cold environment.

Background Research

 * __Heat Capacity-__** Heat capacity is a given amount of heat a substance must take in in order for the substance's temperature to alter. Depending on the substance, it may require a lot of heat, or a little heat. With the exception of ammonia, water has the highest heat capacity.


 * __Water-__** Chemically, water is referred to as H2O; this is created when two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bond. Different from many other substances, water has no color, odor, or taste. Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius, which is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. When ice freezes it expands approximately 9% of its original volume. Water is the only substance that can have three different phases at normal human temperatures-liquid, solid, gas. Molecules in water are constantly moving around, whereas molecules in ice are often considered to be motionless. The molecules in ice form a hexagonal shape. Water's boiling point is 100 degrees Celsius, which is 212 degrees Fahrenheit.


 * __Ice-__** Much like water, ice has no color and no odor. When water is at the temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, which is 39 degrees Fahrenheit, it will decrease in size, but when it is below 4 degrees Celsius, it will increase in size. When water reaches its freezing point, 0 degrees Celsius, (32 degrees Fahrenheit) it will turn into ice. Ice floats in water because its density is less than the density of water (1.0 g/mL).


 * __Thermodynamics-__** Thermodynamics is the study of energy, and the way energy converts itself from one form to another. In thermodynamics, there are two principles. The first principle simply states that in a "system," the total energy will remain constant. The total energy is not capable of decreasing and increasing, but is capable of changing form. So, if you were to melt ice, the temperature of the ice would increase, (get warmer) but in order to match, the surface of the table that you are melting the ice on must decrease (get colder). The second principle states that heat only flows in one direction, which is "from a hotter object to a colder object." Using the example above, this would mean that the heat from the surface of the table would flow into the ice. "The coldness in the ice does NOT flow anywhere."


 * __Melting/Freezing Point of Ice/Water-__** When something begins to change from a solid to a liquid, it is called the melting point. The freezing point of the substance is the same temperature as the melting point. The freezing and melting point of water is 0 degrees Celsius, which is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It is at this temperature, that a liquid (water) and solid (ice) exist at the same time.

__**Other**__- Because of surface area to volume ratio, larger ice cubes will melt slower. An example was, "imagine a big cube of ice, with six sides. Heat flows from the air, into the ice, through the surface. As the temperature of the ice rises, it begins to melt. Now imagine chopping that cube into pieces. Cut the cube in half down the middle, and the two remaining ice cubes will have a total of 12 sides. Cut those 2, and the 4 blocks sport 24 sides. The result: same volume of ice, but much more surface area." With more surface area, more of the ice is exposed to the heat, which will melt the ice.

**References**

 * "Can a container with a different shape have the same capacity." //The Q&A wiki //. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. "Does the shape of an ice cube affect its melting time? - Yahoo! Answers." //Yahoo! Answers - Home //. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. .
 * "Grade Nine Science ." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">PBWorks //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 1925. <grade9sciencepedagogics.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/47844626/Elodea%20-%20lab%20report%20template%20with%20co
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">Patterson, Ainsley. "How to Find the Surface Area and Volume of a Cube | eHow.com." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the expert in you. | eHow.com //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ehow.com/how_4424250_surface-area-volume-cube.html>.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">"Science Project." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">Selah School District //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/soar/sciproj
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">"Why do a few big ice cubes seem to melt more slowly than many smaller cubes? « How Come?." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">How Come? //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.how-come.net/2012/01/22/why-do-a-few-big-ice-cubes-seem-to-melt-more-slowly-than-many-smaller-cubes/>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.5;">**Abstract**
An experiment was conducted to determine if surface area of an ice cube affects melting time. It was hypothesized that an ice cube with a surface area of 115 cm^2 would have the greatest melting time, and an ice cube with a surface area of 66 cm^2 would have the least melting time. The experiment was run with ten trials for each of three surface areas: 115 cm^2, 77 cm^2, 66 cm^2. The average melting time for an ice cube with a surface area of 115 cm^2 was 18221 seconds; a surface area of 77 cm^2 was 28312; and 66 cm^2 was 33315 seconds. The results show that an ice cube with the largest surface area melts fastest.