Heating Water V/s Ice (Super Science Experiments)

You will need:

1. Microwave
2. Ice cubes
3. Water
4. 2 microwavable glasses
5. Weighing scale
   

Create a race between some ice cubes and
water to find out which melts faster in a microwave.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take 5-6 pieces of ice cubes in a microwavable glass and weigh it.
2. In the other glass, pour water which is the same weight as the ice cubes.
3. Place both the glasses inside a microwave. Make sure they are kept equidistant from each other.
4. Switch on the microwave for 1 to 1 ½ minutes. Keep a track of the water.
5. What happens first? Does the ice melt before the water boils?

RESULT

While it takes ice only a few increased degrees of temperature to change from solid to liquid, it takes water 80° celsius temperature to begin boiling. Even so, the water will begin to boil before the ice melts in the microwave. This is because the ice requires a lot more energy to melt than the water. The molecules of water in the ice are locked much tighter together than the molecules in water. Hence they require a lot more energy to break these bonds. Also, microwaves use electromagnetic radiation to cook food. The bonds in ice hardly absorb any energy from the radiation waves, resulting in their temperature staying low and the molecules in water heating up, and eventually boiling before the ice melts.