Determining How Long It Takes To Melt Different Types of Liquids
Isabella B
Cary Academy
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the experiment was to see which kind of frozen liquid takes the shortest
amount of time to melt back into a liquid state. It was hypothesized that the Saline
Solution would take the shortest amount of time to melt. That was hypothesized
because Saline Solution is a mixture of salt and water. The method was to make
different types of liquids and freeze them into ice cubes. After the ice cubes were
frozen, they were taken out one at a time when they were needed and were placed on a
melting pad to speed up the melting process. After the ice cubes were done melting, the
timer was stopped and was then recorded for all the three trials for the Saline Solution,
Spring Water, Apple Juice, and Purified Water. The results of the experiment concluded
that the Apple Juice took an average of 7:34 minutes to melt which was the shortest
amount of time to melt out of all the ice cubes. The results also show that Saline
Solution took an average of 11:47 minutes to melt which was the longest amount of time
to melt.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the experiment was to see which solid state of liquid takes the shortest
amount of time to melt back into a liquid sate. The spring water had a density of 1.03
grams per cubic mL. The water has no added mineral and no added nutrition. The
spring water was processed by sand and carbon filtration, microfiltration, and ozonation.
Apple juice has a density of 1.02 grams per cubic mL. The apple juice has an orange/
yellow type of color. It was a really sweet smell. It has added nutrition and minerals. It
has 28 grams of carbs, 20milagrms of sodium, 260 milligrams of potassium, and 26
grams of sugar. It also has ascorbic and citric acids for taste of the drink. The purified
water is clear with a fresh taste. It has added minerals and has magnesium sulfate,
potassium bicarbonate, and potassium chloride. The density of the water was 1.02
grams per cubic mL. It was processed by reverse osmosis filtration. Saline is mostly salt
and water solution mixture that is used for injections. It has a water density of 1.02
grams per cubic mL. Saline has a pH level of 5.0 and has 0.9% of sodium chloride. It is
made up of 154 sodium and 154 chlorides of electrolytes per mL. The distilled water has
a density of 1.01 grams per cubic mL. It has no added minerals and no nutrition. The
water is from a nature spring in Elloree, South Carolina.
It was hypothesized that the saline would take the shortest amount of time to melt into a
liquid state because Saline is made up of a solution of salt and water. The background
research behind salt and sodium chloride is that they are both substances that can help
melt ice. Ice was once a liquid that then became a solid. When something changes a
state of mater it adds of takes away energy. When the liquid turns to ice it adds energy
or takes away energy, so the particles could not move around as much. The particles do
not move fast enough to overcome the strong attraction between them. The attraction
that is in solid particles is stronger than the same liquid in a different state of matter. The
particles were close enough to vibrate. Solids have a definite shape and volume. Each
of the particles that are in a solid vibrates in place. Each particle is also locked in place
by another particle. There are two kinds of solids. The first kind of solid is called
crystalline and the second kind of solid is called amorphous. Crystalline is a solid that is
very orderly. It has three demission of arrangement of particles that have a repeating
pattern of particles rows. Iron, diamond, ice, and quarts are good example of crystalline.
Amorphous has no specially arranged particles. Each of the particles that are in
amorphous is in one place. They have no specific pattern that the particles are in.
Glass, rubber, and wax are good examples of amorphous.
To go from a solid to a liquid energy must be added. Liquids only change shapes when
they are poured into different shape containers. Liquids are a matter that has a definite
volume and not a definite shape. The particles in a liquid move fast enough to overcome
some of the attractions between them. The particles can slide past each other until a
liquid takes a shape. Liquids surface have a special property called surface tension.
Surface tension is a force that acts on the surface of a liquid. Surface tension causes
some liquids to form beads of water. Different liquids have different surface tensions.
Gasoline has very low surface tension and it will form flat droplets. Viscosity is the
resistance of water flowing. The stronger the attractions between the molecules og the
liquids the more viscous the liquid will be. An example would be that honey flows more
slowly than water. Honey would have a higher viscosity than water.
The change of state is when one substance goes from one physical change to another.
All changes of matter are physical changes. In a physical change the substance the
identity of a substance does not change. The particles of a substance move differently
depending on the state of the substance. The particles have different amounts of
energy. Liquids have more energy than ice. There are more particles in steam than in
liquids. When matter changes it has to add or remove energy.
When energy is added to something it is caused to melt. Melting is a change from a
solid to a liquid. As the temperature increase the particles of the solid start to move
faster. When a certain temperature is reached, it causes ice to melt. This is called a
melting point. Melting is a physical property. Different types of liquids have different
types of melting points. When liquids freeze it is called a freezing point. Freezing points
are 32 degrees F or 0 degrees C. Freezing is the reserve process of melting. Freezing
and melting occur at all the same temperature. In order to melt, particles must
overcome some attractions. Solid is at melting point at any energy is used to overcome
the attractions that hold particles together. To freeze the particles must overcome the
motion of the particles. Removing energy will cause it to freeze. Adding energy makes it
melt. Removing energy causes the particles to begin locking into place and then lock
into place until energy is added.
When trying to melt ice calcium chloride is the best thing to help melt it. It has to be kept
in an air tight container for best use if it is not going to be used for a while. Calcium
chloride can come from limestone. It can help to melt ice and dust control on the roads.
Ice is nice to have in drinks but it is preferred cubed because it can keep drinks cooler
longer. The ice molecules became less dense when water is frozen so they spread
apart. When they did spread apart they made the ice expand and rise. They use ice for
standard drinks. Ice trays were made flexible so the ice could pop out. Ice wasn’t always
in cube shape. They were in tube shaped and called ice tubes. Ice was not always used
for drinks; it was once used in sickened rooms.
MATERIALS AND METHOD

Bottle Spring water

Bottle Distilled water

Bottle Purified water

Bottle Saline solution

Bottle Apple juice

Ice tray

Timer

Freezer

Metal black plate

Paper towels

250 mL beaker(small beaker)
The liquids were measured to 40 mL in a small beaker. The Spring Water, Distilled
Water, Apple Juice, Saline Solution, and Purified Water were poured into the ice cube
tray. They were then put into the freezer overnight. The ice cubes were frozen. The
black metal plate was cleaned with soap and water so there would be no contamination
on it from previous use. The ice cubes were taken out and was put on to the metal black
plate, one at a time. As the ice was melting, the paper towels were used to wipe up
extra water. When the ice cube had finished melting back into a liquid state, the timer
stopped. It was recorded how long it took to finish melting. The black plate was then
cleaned off with soap and water so there would be no excess water on it for next trial.
This was repeated for 3 trials for each of the five liquid.
The control variable for the first experiment was the ice cubes that had the purified
water. The independent variable for the experiment was the different types of water that
were used to make the ice cubes. The dependent variable was how long the ice cubes
took to melt. The first controlled variable was the ice cube tray that would have to be
used for all the ice cubes. The second controlled variable for the experiment was the ice
cubes had the same amount of handling time. The third controlled variable for the
experiment was how much water was poured into each of the ice cube holes.
A second experiment was performed. A bucket was filled with a liquid and the black
melting pad was left in the liquid for 20 seconds. The black pad was then taken out and
was put onto a paper towel. The black pad was left for 30 seconds before it next use.
An ice cube was then put on the surface of the black pad. The triple bean balance was
balanced at zero before the ice was put on the black pad. After 1 minute, the ice cube
was taken off and it was measured how much it weighed in grams. Once the trials were
over, the black pad was left in a bucket with soapy water to it off.
The control variable for the second experiment was the black pad soaked in Deer Park
Water. The independent variable was what liquid the black pad was soaked in. The
dependent variable is the amount the ice cubed weighed after it was melted for a certain
amount of time. One of the controlled variables for the experiment was if the time
measurements were accurate. The second controlled variable for the experiment is how
long the ice cube was actually melting for. The third controlled variable was the amount
the ice cubes weighed for each trial.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Average time to melt(seconds)
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Purified Water
Spring Water
Apple Juice
Saline Solution
The type of water
Figure 1: The amount of time to melt the Purified Water, Spring Water, Apple
Juice, and Saline Solution ice cubes.
Amount lost on Average (Grams)
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Deer Park Water
Distilled Water
Saline Solution
Type of Water
Figure 2: The average amount of weight when the melting was soaked in Saline
Solution, Distilled Water, and Deer Park Water.
The independent variable for the first experiment was the different types of liquids that
were used to make the ice cubes. The dependent variable was the amount of time to
take the ice cubes o melt each time. The independent and the dependent variable relate
to each other because the different kinds of liquids are the liquids that were being
melted. The ice cube that took the longest to melt was the Saline Solution with an
average of 707 seconds (11:47 minutes). The second to least amount of time to melt is
Purified Water with an average of 633 seconds (10:33 minutes). The fastest liquid to
melt was Apple Juice with an average of 454 seconds (7:34 minutes). The second
fastest liquid to melt was Spring Water with an average of 556 seconds (9:16 minutes).
The independent variable for the second experiment is the type of water that was used
to soak the black pad in. The dependent variable was the amount of mass the ice cube
was after it had melted for a minute. The independent and dependent variable relate
with each other because the independent is what will change the amount of time the ice
cubes take to melt. The ice cube that lost the most amount of mass was when the black
pad was soaked in Deer Park Water. It had lost 7.3 grams and then weighed 5.6 grams.
The ice cube the lost the second most mass was when the black pad was soaked in
Saline solution. It lost 5 grams and weighed 7.9 grams. The ice cube that had lost the
least amount of mass was when the black pad was soaked in the Distilled Water. It had
lost 4.5 grams and weighed 8.4 grams. The ice cubes originally weighed 12.9 grams
before it was melted.
CONCUISION
The hypothesis was not confirmed. It was thought that the saline would be the fastest to
melt. The background research was reported that saline was a solution of salt and
water. Saline also had sodium chloride as one of the ingredients. From research it said
that salt and sodium chloride are both additives that melt ice. It was inferred that the
outcome of the experiment is because the amount of times the black pad was used time
to time that it was worn out before one of the trials was done. A second inference that
was thought was the liquids might have changed the way the black pad was performed.
This experiment could be improved by using temperatures instead of using a black
medal pad. A Future experiment could be putting Mentos in an ice cube and putting it in
coke and see how long it takes to have a geyser. A major discovery that was found was
that apple juice melts faster than different types of liquids.
For my second experiment, the ice has different effects to different liquids when melting.
The experiment must have this outcome because the liquids must have an effect on the
black melting pad and must change the way that ice melts. This experiment could be
improved by having more types of liquids. A future experiment could be having different
liquids as the ice cube and have them be melting on the same liquid. A major discovery
was that the ice would melt on top of other liquids and lose that much mass.
REFERENCES
"Ice Cube." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Apr. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
Nurhidajat, Salsabila. "Melting Ice." Prezi.com. , 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
"Sates of Matter." Introduction to Matter. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007.
Print.
"Why Does Water Expand When Freezes." Iapws. N.p., 21 Apr. 2000. Web. 14 Feb.
2014.