Activity 1

Activity 1: Scientific Method and States of Matter 
To complete this activity each student it to design, conduct, and report on an experiment and answer the following questions. There is no set procedure for this. This activity is designed for students to think about and create an experiment.

Here are three experimental questions to answer:
1. Does hot water or cold water freeze faster? Cold
2. Does hot water or cold water boil faster? Hot
3. Does salt water freeze faster or slower than regular water? slower
Boiling:

Amnt of water	Type of water	Experiment 1	Experiment 2	Experiment 3
1 cup	Cold Water	149	152	156
1 cup	Hot Water	145	149	151

Freezing:

Amnt of water	Type of water	Experiment 1	Experiment 2	Experiment 3
½ cup	Cold water	60	58	61
½ Cup	Hot water	81	83	85
½ Cup (1Tbsp salt)	Salt water	99	93	95

Questions/Items to then include in you blog posting for this activity:
1. Pictures of your experimental materials and setup.

2. Your hypothesis to the questions posed.
I believe that the hot water will boil faster than the cold water.
I believe that the regular water will freeze faster than the salt water.
I believe that the cold water will freeze faster than the warm water.

5. List your controlled variables for your experiment:
          - Same amount of water is used.
          - Same containers were used.
          - Temperature of the freezer is the same
          - All of the water was boiled/frozen at the same time
6. Formulate a theory that answers the questions posed.

A. Does cold water or hot water freeze faster? This is because the hot water has to cool before it can be in the same state the cool water started in.

Mepmba effect: is the observation that warmer water sometimes freezes faster than colder water. Although the observation has been verified, there is no single scientific explanation for the effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect

B. Does hot or cold water boil faster? Hot water does because the molecules are already starting to move faster than the molecules in cold water.

C. Does salt water or regular water freeze faster? The salt makes the freezing point of water lower. The salt is getting in the way of the water molecules fusing like they normally would without the salt there.

7. Image of the atoms that make up water molecules.

8. Video or animation that shows how water molecules are arranged in the three states of matter for water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v12xG80KcZw
9. Describe the scientific method/process and how each step correlates to your own experiments.
1. Ask a question: You gave us 3 questions to answer.  Does hot water or cold water freeze faster? Does hot water or cold water boil faster? Does salt water freeze faster or slower than regular water?
2. Construct a hypothesis: My hypotheses were: I believe that the hot water will boil faster than the cold water. I believe that the regular water will freeze faster than the salt water. I believe that the cold water will freeze faster than the warm water.
3. Test your hypothesis/Experiment: I tested all three of my hypotheses with three different experiments that pertained to answering my questions.
4. Analyze your data/Draw conclusion: I analyzed my data by answering the question of formulating your theories.