Activity 1: Scientific Method and States of Matter

Pictures:

Hypothesis to questions:

                -Part 1 Question 1: The hot water will boil faster than the cold water.

                -Part 2 Question 2: The hot water will freeze faster than the cold water.

                -Part 3 Question 3: The salt water will freeze slower than the regular water.

Data in form of a table:

PART ONE- Does hot water or cold water boil faster?
Trial Number	Water ½ cup	Start Temp. (F)	End Temp. (F)	Time to Boil (Min.)
Trial 1	Hot	96	205	2 min. 36 seconds
	Cold	66	199	3 min. 43 seconds
Trail 2	Hot	97	196	2 min. 24 seconds
	Cold	72	199	3 min. 32 seconds
Trial 3	Hot	97	201	2 min. 29 seconds
	Cold	74	197	3 min. 26 seconds

PART TWO- Does hot water or cold water freeze faster?
Trial Number	Water ¼ cup	Start Temp. (F)	Temp. Recorded 20 min. in (F)	Temp. Recorded 35 min. in (F)	Freeze Time (Min.) Approx. where top is completely frozen
Trial 1	Hot	94	49	40	57
	Cold	65	38	32	45
Trial 2	Hot	93	53	40	57
	Cold	67	44	34	50
Trial 3	Hot	99	54	42	59
	Cold	70	46	37	56

PART THREE- Does salt water freeze faster or slower than regular water?
Trial Number	Water ¼ cup/ Salt 1 tsp	Start Temp. (F)	Temp. Recorded 20 min. in (F)	Temp. Recorded 35 min. in (F)	Freeze Time (Min.) Approx. where top is completely frozen
Trial 1	Salt Water	77	46	37	1 hour 14 minutes
	Regular Water	80	49	39	58
Trial 2	Salt Water	75	43	32	1 hour 22 minutes
	Regular Water	75	45	34	1 hour 1 minute
Trial 3	Salt Water	73	46	39	1 hour 17 minutes
	Regular Water	73	44	37	1 hour 3 minutes

Controlled variables: The controlled variables used throughout the experiments were the following: same freezer and cups were placed in same position in the freezer, same pan used to boil water, same cup each time for hot and cold water, same thermometer used each time, same burner for each of the boiling trials, and same type of salt was used in the third experiment.

Theory that answers questions:               

 -Does hot water or cold water boil faster? In theory, hot water boils faster than cold water.

               

-Does hot water or cold water freeze faster? In theory, cold water freezes faster than hot water.

             

  -Does salt water freeze faster or slower than regular water? In theory, salt water freezes slower than regular water.

Image of atoms that make up water molecules:

http://alevelnotes.com/content_images/i49_water_molecules_con_c_la_784.jpg

Video or animation of how water molecules are arranged in the three states of mater for water:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbL_gNSDvmI

Describe Scientific method/process and how each step correlates with experiment: The first step in this scientific method is to ask a question and to make sure this question is testable. In this experiment we asked three questions first was asking if hot or cold water boiled faster, second was asking if hot or cold water froze faster, and third was asking if salt water froze faster or slower than regular water. The second part to this method is to do background research in order to create a viable hypothesis for each experiment. For this experiment I researched each question to find similar test and results. Next, is to create a hypothesis, or an educated guess, for each of the questions. In this experiment my hypotheses were based off of my prior research. Testing your hypothesis is the next step. Testing your hypothesis allows you to create theories based on your results. The experiments conducted were boiling hot and cold water, freezing hot and cold water, and freezing salt and regular water to see which ones boiled/froze faster. After testing is complete the next step in the scientific method is to analyze your data. To analyze the data for these experiments you focus on which ones boiled or froze faster. This will help you draw a conclusion about each of the original questions, which is the last step. In the charts and data that I found from each of my experiments I was able to answer the questions that we asked in the beginning of the scientific method/process.

Reproducibility of experiment: These experiments are rather simple to reproduce and to get similar results as long as the same controlled variables are used. As shown in part one each hot water boiled faster than cold water and approximately in the same amount of time. Part two was a bit different, but generally produced the same results from two of the trials. Part three of the experiment showed us that salt water froze slower than regular water. Each of the trials in the third experiment approximately froze in the same amount of time as well.

Write three paragraph statements about the experiment:

1.       Intro of the science concepts: Understanding scientific methods/concepts helps an individual conduct experiments in the appropriate way. It’s a method to help people understand the necessary steps to an experiment and answer a potential scientific question. It helps people understand the science behind the questions being asked. These necessary steps to create a successful experiment include asking a question, doing background research, coming up with a hypothesis, testing that hypothesis, analyzing the data from your experiment, and drawing a conclusion from your results.

2.       Describe experiment, data and conclusion: In order to answer the three questions being asked I conducted three different experiments. First I boiled hot and cold water separately to see which one boiled faster. The second experiment was to see if it was hot or cold water that froze faster. The third experiment was too see if salt water froze faster or slower than regular water. The data that I collected from each experiment was that the hot water boiled faster than the colder water, cold water freezes faster than hot water, and that salt water freezes slower than regular water.  My hypotheses for hot water to boil faster than cold water and for salt water to freeze slower than regular water were correct. When I did my research before I conducted my experiments I found that some experiments have shown hot water freezing before cold water, but throughout my trials I found that my hypothesis was wrong.

3.       Apply science concepts and knowledge to a real-world application: These science concepts that have been covered throughout this experiment can be used in the real world anytime you need to answer a question. You just need to use the necessary steps that were mentioned above asking the question, do the background research, think of a hypothesis, test it, analyze the data, and create your conclusion from your results. For example asking yourself how can I boil pasta as fast as possible for dinner. Well by me doing this experiment I know that hot water will boil faster than cold water, so all I would need to do would be to run the water so that the water is hot enough to save some time.

 

Sources:

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/hot_water.html