Melting Ice, and The Law of Conservation of Mass - Winter Science for Children

We had a very simple Science Sunday experiment, this morning. I'm not going to come right out, and say it was because the more complicated experiment we tried on Saturday failed. But, if you're thinking that, you might not be wrong. Anyway...

I placed a glass measuring cup of water, with a chunk of ice (let's call it an iceberg) floating in it, in the middle of the table.

I made the iceberg ahead, by crumpling up a plastic cup, to use as an ice cube mold.



First, I let the children enjoy the aesthetic beauty of the ice, pointing out the fact that most of the ice sits under the water, and only a small amount sticks up, above the surface.



Then, I asked the children, what they thought was going to happen to the level of water, in the bowl, as the ice melted.

Would the water level rise, stay the same, or go down?

They all guessed the water level would rise.

All, that was left to do then, was to wait, watch, and eat breakfast. Science experiments don't get much simpler than that.






Of course, what the children didn't take into account, was the Law of Conservation of Mass.

You can read a very nice, scientific explanation of the whole thing, here, but suffice it to say, the water level remained the same.

For more fun with science check out this week's Science Sunday link-up at Adventures in Mommydom.

It's great to be a homeschooler.