WHY DOES ICE MELT?

How could you make it melt faster?

What are different ways to melt ice?
What are different ways to melt ice?

 Anything that produces HEAT:

 Like…
 Putting pressure on it (squeezing, hammering etc)
 Hot water
 Hot air
 Fire
Activity 1
• In groups of four, think of the best way to
melt an ice block using the limited
resources in the classroom?
Activity 2
• Which of the following options melt ice the
fastest?
 Hot water
 Cold water
 Running water
 Hair dryer
Explanation: So why does ice melt?
Structure: What is ice made of?

 Water particles that do not move visibly

 Water in its solid form- H2O molecules
packed close together

H2O H2O H2O H2O H2O

H2O H2O H2O H2O H2O

H2O H2O H2O H2O H2O

 MELTING
 The process of changing solid into liquid

 Occurs through the presence of HEAT

water (liquid)
Ice (solid)
H2O H2O
H2O H2O H2O H2O
Heat energy
H2O H2O
melting H2O H2O
H2O H2O H2O
Heat energy H2O H2O H2O
H2O H2O H2O

As particles gain energy… … they are able to move around more.

So they tend to occupy more space.
Remember:
 Coldness is the ABSENCE of heat
 There is a lack of energy in cold temperatures
 Thus, water particles do not move visibly because they do not
have the sufficient amount of energy needed to move slightly
away from each other

H2O H2O
H2O H2O H2O H2O
H2O H2O
H2O H2O
H2O H2O H2O
H2O H2O H2O
H2O H2O H2O

Lack of heat = lack of energy Addition of energy = particles can

move more
 The Melting Process…
• The melting point of ice: 0◦C/ 32◦F

An environment above this

temperature will allow ice to melt and
turn into liquid
Environment It is only through a
(e.g. water, air) temperature difference that
heat energy is transferred.
H2O- ice

> 0◦C For melting to occur, the

surroundings must overpower the
substance to be melted in terms of
< 0◦C
quantity and temperature.
temperature
How could we make ice melt faster?
 It all depends on the…
 Initial temperature of the ice

 Size/ volume of the ice

 Very high difference in temperature

 the substance used to melt has a relatively way higher

temperature than that of the ice

 Quantity
 The substance used to melt also needs to be way

bigger in volume/ quantity than that of the ice

 there must be way more heat present than that of the

ice
References:
 Brown, T., LeMay, H.E & Burstein, B. (2008).
Chemistry: The Central Science (11th ed.). USA:
Prentice Hall

 Editors of Childcraft. (Ed.). (1994). Changing water.

In Young Scientist: All about water (Vol. 2, p. 26).
USA: World Book, Inc.

 Editors of Childcraft. (Ed.). (1994). Solid Water. In

Young Scientist: All about water (Vol. 2, pp. 32-33).
USA: World Book, Inc.