ACTIVITY ONE!

 1.  Does hot water or cold water freeze faster?

Materials:

1. 1 Timer.
2. 1 Measuring cup.
3. Six small plastic cups.
   
4. Hot water.
5. Cold water.
6. 3 Hot labels.
7. 3 Cold labels.

Hypothesis:
Cold water will freeze dramatically faster than hot water because it's already at a colder temperature to freeze.  Hot water will take longer to freeze because it's at a higher temperature.


Controlled Variables:

1. Amount of water placed in the cups which in this experiment is 3/4 oz in every cup.
2. Exact same 1 oz cups for both hot and cold water.
3. Same freezer is used for all experiments.

Data:

Type of Water.	Time for 1st experiment.	Time for 2nd experiment.	Time for 3rd experiment.	Average time.
Hot Water.	58.25 minutes.	47.28 minutes.	51.20 minutes.	52.24 minutes.
Cold Water.	47.08 minutes.	47.11 minutes.	54.05 minutes.	49.41 minutes.

Theory:

From this experiment I believe that cold water freezes faster than hot water.  On average hot water freezes in 52.24 minutes and cold water freezes in 49.41 minutes.  This is due to the fact that the water molecules are already slowing down with the cold temperature.  The hot temperature has water molecules that are moving fast so it takes a little bit longer to slow down and eventually freeze.

2. Does hot water or cold water boil faster?

Materials:

1.  1 Stove.
2. 1 Timer.
3. 1 Measuring cup.
4. 1 Small saucepan.
5. Hot water.
6. Cold water.
7. 1 Hot label.
8. 1 Cold label.

Hypothesis:
Hot water will boil slightly faster than cold water because hot water molecules are closer to the boiling point than cold water.


Controlled Variables:

1. The amount of water in the sauce pan which in this experiment is 1 cup of water.
2. The temperature of the stove which for this experiment is set at high.

Data:

Type of Water.	Time for 1st experiment.	Time for 2nd experiment.	Time for 3rd experiment.	Average time.
Hot Water.	2.39 minutes.	2.53 minutes.	2.59 minutes.	2.50 minutes.
Cold Water.	3.28 minutes.	3.31 minutes.	3.31 minutes.	3.30 minutes.

Theory:

From this experiment I found that hot water boils faster than cold water.  On average hot water boiled in 2.50 minutes and cold water boiled in 3.30 minutes.  This is due to the fact that the water molecules in hot water are already fast while the water molecules in the cold water are slower so it takes longer for them to speed up.

3.  Does salt water freeze faster or slower than regular water?

Materials:

1. 1 Timer.
2. 1 Measuring cup.
3. Six small plastic cups.
4. Hot water.
5. Cold water.
6. 3 Hot labels.
7. 3 Cold labels. 
8. Salt.

Hypothesis:

Regular water will freeze faster than salt water.

Controlled Variables:

1. Amount of water placed in the cups which in this experiment is 3/4 oz in every cup.
2. Exact same 1 oz cups for both hot and cold water.
3. Same freezer is used for all experiments.
4. The same amount of salt is placed in all the salt water cups.

 

Data:

Type of Water.	Time for 1st experiment.	Time for 2nd experiment.	Time for 3rd experiment.	Average time.
Regular Water.	41.28 minutes.	33.06 minutes.	42.33 minutes.	38.89 minutes.
Salt Water.	53.57 minutes.	55.50 minutes.	59.14 minutes.	56.07 minutes.

Theory:

From this experiment I found that regular water freezes faster than salt water.  On average regular water freezes in 38.89 minutes and salt water freezes in 56.07 minutes.   This happened because the regular water did not have to deal with the salt molecules.  Salt slows down the freezing process because it breaks down ice crystals.  This is why they put salt on ice in the winter.

Image of the atom:







Video or animation that shows how water molecules are arranged in the three states of matter for water:

http://youtu.be/v12xG80KcZw

http://youtu.be/HDJVvBBBRJc

Describe the scientific method/process and how each step correlates to your own experiment:

1. Ask a questions.
1. There were a total of 3 questions asked for this activity.  The first question was does hot water or cold water freeze faster?  The second question is does hot water or cold water boil faster?  The third question was does salt water freeze faster or slower than regular water.  In order to answer these questions, they have to be about something that can be measured, preferably something with a number.
2. Do background research.
1. Before doing this activity, I looked for the videos that I needed for this blog.  I did this so I had a little bit of a refresher about what are water molecules.  Doing research before doing the actual experiment is important because then you don't repeat mistakes from the past.
3. Construct a hypothesis.
1. Since I had 3 questions I had 3 hypothesis.  These were that cold water will freeze faster than hot water,  hot water will boil slightly faster than cold water, and regular water will freeze faster than salt water.  These were all educated guesses which is what hypothesis are.
4. Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment.
1. Each of the questions and my hypothesis are shown in my experiments that are located in the above information.  I repeated each experiment 3 times to ensure that I received the correct results.
5. Analyze your data and draw a conclusion.
1.  My results are shown in the above data sections for each question.  The data showed that my hypothesis were correct, cold water does freeze faster than hot water, hot water will boil faster than cold water, and regular water will freeze faster than salt water.
6. Communicate your results.
1. Finally, the last step of the scientific method is sharing your results which is done in my experiments by posting this blog.

Talk about the repeatability of the experiment:

In general repeating an experiment is a good idea because data isn't always accurate.  However, when an experiment is repeated 3 or more times then the person doing the experiment can get averages which is a more accurate result.  For the first experiment of finding out if hot water or cold water freezes faster my data had the average of 52.24 minutes to freeze hot water and 49.41 minutes to freeze cold water.  For my second experiment of finding out if hot water or cold water boils faster, I found that the hot water boiled on average in 2.50 minutes and 3.30 minutes for cold water.  For the third experiment of finding out if salt water freezes faster or slower than regular water, my data found that on average regular water froze in 38.89 minutes and 56.07 minutes for the salt water.

Write a three paragraph statement about your experiment and connections to a real-world application:

1. The main concept that these experiments covered is the 3 phases of matter and how this affects the water molecules.  A solid has a definite shape and volume which is what the ice in my experiments were.  A liquid has a definite volume but no definite shape which is of course what the water was.  A gas has neither definite volume or shape which is what the water was becoming when it was boiled.
2. Each experiment was done as a review from my middle and high school education.  The first experiment was to see if hot water or cold water froze faster.  This is a pretty easy experiment to guess the answer because cold water is closer to the freezing temperature than hot water which is what my experiment showed.  The second experiment was to find out if hot water or cold water boiled faster which is another easy experiment to guess the result.  This is due to the fact that hot water is closer to the boiling point then cold water.  In the third experiment I found out if salt water or regular water froze faster which is a slightly harder question to guess but not much more.  Regular water freezes faster because it does not have to deal with the salt molecule which slows down the freezing process.
3. These experiments can be used in my everyday life very easily.  When I run out of ice and need it fast, I will use colder water so that I can have ice sooner than later.  When I make one of my favorite meals, mac & cheese, I will use hot water because it will boil faster.  The last experiment also is useful in explaining why we put salt on sidewalks and roads during the weekend.