For our science fair experiment, we tried to figure out if changing the shape of an ice cube affects how fast it melts. Ice and water were important in our experiment. A big part of the melting and freezing process, is the amount of surface area and volume of the ice cube. The freezing and melting of the ice cube played a major role in our experiment. Many changes come to an ice cube when it melts and freezes. The research suggests that a lower surface area and volume melted the slowest, and that the shape of an ice cube does affect how fast it melts.
Knowing what ice and water is, is important. Water is a liquid that humans and any other living creature needs to survive. Water is made up of 2 Hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The chemical symbol is H2O. Water is a odorless, colorless, and tasteless substance. There are three forms of water; liquid, solid, and gas. Heat is energy in the form of vibrating atoms. An ice cube is the solid form of water. Ice is colorless and odorless. Ice is a mineral, but it has to be in solid form to be qualified as a mineral. Because the molecules are locked in place, ice is hard and stiff.
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Surface area is the area of the surface of a three dimensional object, in our case, ice. The amount of surface area and volume affect how fast ice melts.The more surface area the faster it will melt because more of the ice’s surface has contact with the air. The more surface that has contact with the air the faster it will melt. Different shapes have different surface area, and volume ratio. A sphere has the least and a flat sheet has the most. The way to keep an ice cube from melting the longest is to have a low surface area, and a low volume. An example of this would be if two ice cubes had the same volume, but their shape was different. The surface area would differ and the melting time would