Enriching Education: AccuWeather Summer Camp - Boiling Water with Ice

 

AccuWeather Summer Camp: Boiling water with ice? What?!

Today's activity: Water turns into ice when it freezes and vapor when it boils, so how can you get water to boil with ice? It’s not magic, but rather, it’s science that allows this to happen.

AccuWeather Global Weather Center – August 19, 2020 –  AccuWeather School's out for the summer, but the fun of learning about the weather isn't over. While other camps may have been canceled, AccuWeather has many new and exciting experiments and projects planned for the summer that parents and our virtual campers can watch and do from home. So, pack your activity bags, and let’s go to AccuWeather Summer Camp!

Weather Detectives! Boiling water with ice? (click here for video)

Wait a minute? Water turns into ice when it freezes and vapor when it boils, so how can you get water to boil with ice? It’s not magic, but rather, it’s science that allows this to happen.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls started this experiment by boiling water in a glass bottle (kids, make sure you get an adult to help with this). Once the water in the bottle was boiling, Jason removed it from the heat, waited 10 seconds and fastened a lid on top. He then turned the water bottle upside down in another jar to hold it and put the ice on top.

As the air cooled, the water started to boil again – how did that happen?

First you have to know that at the boiling point of water (212 degrees Fahrenheit/100 degrees Celsius), tiny bubbles of water vapor rise to the surface.

The key is that placing the ice on top causes the air pressure inside the bottle to lower. When the air pressure is lower, the tiny bubbles in the hot water have an easier time coming up to the surface – and actually, you can get boiling water at a temperature lower than 212 F.

See the Full Story >>

 

About AccuWeather, Inc. and AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather, recognized and documented as the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings in the world, has saved tens of thousands of lives, prevented hundreds of thousands of injuries and tens of billions of dollars in property damage. With global headquarters in State College, PA and other offices around the world, AccuWeather serves more than 1.5 billion people daily to help them plan their lives and get more out of their day through digital media properties, such as AccuWeather.com and mobile, as well as radio, television, newspapers, and the national 24/7 AccuWeather Network channel. Additionally, AccuWeather produces and distributes news, weather content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites.