Freezing and Melting

Lab Brief #2

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

Mixing two safe things doesn't always make a safe thing.

What you'll learn

When water gets very cold, it freezes into ice. When ice gets warm, it melts back into water.

Key words

melt
To change from a solid into a liquid when heated.
water
A clear liquid made of hydrogen and oxygen that living things need.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: will the mixture get hotter, colder, or stay the same?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

salt

⚠️ Safety first

Mop up spills straight away so nobody slips, and keep liquids away from sockets.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the new words. Can you say each one?

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Mix salt into warm water and cold water. Stir 20 times each. Which dissolves faster?

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Watch carefully. What happens?

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Draw and write about what you learned.

Question 1 of 3

What happens when water gets very cold?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

Which will melt in the sun?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

What happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

💧 Hot water can freeze faster than cold water under the right conditions. Nobody fully understands why.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: Mixing Makes New Colors All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: Your toothpaste, your soap, even your breakfast involves this.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Ask a grown-up to help you mix two safe kitchen things. Predict what will happen first.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's something we cook that mixes things together this way?”

🧊Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

Freezing and Melting

Next Smart Experiment

Share this experiment

Freezing and Melting

Done with science? Try something else

Your Cart (0)