What melts ice faster, salt or warm water? Challenge your child to an experiment to see who is right.
Time: 30 minutes
Age: 5-10yrs
Level: Easy
Materials
Ice (I used rocket shaped ice blocks)
Stand your ice somewhere sturdy. Cubes could sit in shallow bowl, ice blocks could stand up in an icecream container with holes pressed out.
Discuss your predictions with your child. What will happen when you add salt? What will happen when you add water?
Spoon water onto the other ice.
Watch what happens to the ice. Discuss your findings. Investigate the texture of the two ice blocks. One may be smooth, the other may have grooves melted out of it. Why would this be?
Your child may find that they can pour salt directly onto the ice and create mini salt towers.
Your child may like to pour water over the salt and watch what happens.
Discuss plans for other ways to melt ice with sugar or vinegar for example.
