Don’t Melt the Ice’ Challenge

Type of resource: Website (brief reference)

Web address https://sciencing.com/science-projects-keep-ice-melting-7932666.html

Language: English

Description

Investigate which materials work best in slowing down the melting of an ice cube

Scientific concept introduced

Investigating properties and characteristics of materials – insulators and conductors in heat energy transfer

Creative and critical thinking

Critical Thinking:

1.Explanation

2. Prediction

Creative Thinking:

1. Imagining

2. Designing

3. Making

Mathematical reasoning

1. Sorting
2. Measuring
3. 3D Shape

Scientific thinking

1. Questioning
2. Explaining
3. Planning
4. Sorting and Comparing
5. Observing
6. Predicting
7. Analysing results
8. Drawing conclusions

Learning how to learn

1. Following guidelines
2. Self-efficacy in learning
3. Fun in learning
4. Reflective learning

Additional

1. Literacy – vocabulary development
2. Oral language development
3. Drawing
4. Cutting with scissors
5. Following rules of safety
6. Teamwork

Don’t Melt the Ice’ Challenge

Overall aims

• to enable pupils to investigate which materials (insulators and conductors) work best in slowing down the melting of an ice cube
• to develop pupils’ skills in planning, designing and making (engineering skills)
• to develop pupils’ skills in listening and following guidelines
• to develop pupils’ skills in observing and predicting
• to develop pupils’ construction skills
• to develop pupils’ measuring and cutting skills
• to develop pupils’ expressive language skills
• to develop pupils’ skills in reflecting on learning

Vocabulary – keywords should be understood

Ice, melt, freeze, heat, insulator, conductor, moves, contraption, materials, cube, face, edge,
liquid, solid

Expected learning outcomes (operational aims)

The child will be enabled to:
• follow guidelines for the investigation
• identify properties and characteristics of an ice cube
• identify attributes of a cube (face and edges)
• identify ice as a solid and ice which has melted as a liquid
• sort materials- identifying suitable materials for their design
• compare and identify materials as being good/poor at slowing down the melting of an ice cube (insulators/conductors)
• measure and cut materials
• design a simple construction to slow down the melting of an ice cube
• make a simple construction to slow down the melting of an ice cube
• make observations and predictions during the experiment
• respond to the experiment by creating an audio story

STEM skills – to which the learning unit is related to

CORE STEM SKILLS

• Questioning
• Explanation
• Imagining
• Planning
• Comparing
• Sorting

• Designing
• Making
• Measuring
• Observing
• Predicting
• Analysing results
• Drawing conclusions

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

• Following guidelines
• Self-efficacy in learning
• Teamwork
• Literacy – vocabulary development
• Oral language development
• Fun in learning
• Reflective learning
• Drawing
• Cutting with scissors
• Following rules of safety

Teaching methodologies/activity outline

Introduction:
1. Show the pupils an ice cube, eliciting its properties and characteristics.
Sample Questions: What shape is it? How many faces/edges does it have? What is it made of? What can we use it for? Where do we keep ice lollies and ice cream? Why?
(We freeze them in the freezer so that they don’t melt). What happens when you’re eating an ice lolly on a sunny day? (The heat makes the ice melt). What state is ice? (A solid) What state is it when it is melted? (A liquid)
2. Inform pupils that they’re going to work in their groups, to make their own contraption to keep ice from melting.

Activity:
(Asks pupils to work in groups of 4, reminding them to work together)

Materials: (per group)
• An ice cube
• Scissors
• Glue
• Tape
• Selection of materials for construction, for example:
– Aluminium foil

– Paper towels
– Cling film

– Cotton wool
– Bubble Wrap

– Elastic bands

– Cloth

– Plastic cups
– Paper cups

– Saucepan
– Boxes

– String

Instructions:
1. Show pupils some of the materials gathered for the experiment and have a class discussion about what types of materials they think could be good for helping to stop the ice from melting, noting ideas with a mind map on the board.

*The science behind it:
➔ Heat is a type of energy and it moves from a warmer object to a cooler object.
➔ Insulators are materials that are poor at letting heat energy pass through them.
Insulators are good at keeping ice from melting.
➔ Conductors are the opposite; they are good at letting heat energy pass through.
Conductors will let ice melt quicker.
➔ Aluminium foil is a great insulator – ice wrapped in aluminium foil will melt slower.
➔ Cotton wool and bubble wrap are also good insulators.
➔ As saucepans are made out of metal (heat conductors), they will let the ice melt
quicker.

2. Give each group a sheet of paper, asking them to plan, design and draw their contraption.
3. Ask pupils to explain the reasoning behind their design and discuss as a class.
4. Give pupils time to create their contraptions, selecting their materials as required.
5. When all contraptions are ready, ask pupils to predict which contraption they think will work best at stopping the ice cube from melting.
6. Then give each group an ice cube and ask pupils to observe the ice cubes – noting which melts first/last etc.
7. Discuss the results as a class, informing pupils of the science behind it (*see point 1 above).
8. Ask pupils to think about improvements they could make to their contraptions.

Conclusion:
1. Ask the class to do a simple audio story about ‘The Ice Cube Who Wouldn’t Melt’, for example:
○ Begin by planning the audio story
○ Record it
○ Add sound effects – using voice or props
○ Share the audio story on the school website