Question Video: Identifying the Property That Can Be Determined by Heating Ice in a Water Bath Science

Video Transcript

The figure describes a simple experiment that can be done by a group of students in a classroom. What interesting information can be obtained from this experiment? (A) The melting point of ice, (B) the electrical conductivity of water, (C) the density of water, (D) the solubility of water, (E) the density of ice.

The figure shows crushed ice in a glass beaker suspended in a water bath. The water bath is heated with a Bunsen burner, and the temperature of the ice is monitored with a thermometer. As the water bath is heated, it gains thermal energy. Some of this thermal energy is transferred to the ice. This causes the temperature of the ice to increase. Eventually, a point will be reached when the ice begins to melt and turn into liquid water. The temperature at which a substance begins to change from the solid to the liquid state is called the melting point.

If the temperature is recorded when the ice begins to melt, then the melting point of ice has been determined. Ice ordinarily has a melting point of zero degrees Celsius. So, the interesting information that can be obtained from the experiment is the melting point of ice, answer choice (A).