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Why does ice float on water?

Why does ice float on water?

  • ice and water are same same is h2o. but y ice can float on water? help!!

  • Answer:

    An unusual property of ice frozen at a pressure of one atmosphere is that the solid is some 8% less dense than liquid water. Water is the only known non-metallic substance to expand when it freezes. Ice has a density of 0.9167 g/cm³ at 0 °C, whereas water has a density of 0.9998 g/cm³ at the same temperature. Liquid water is most dense, essentially 1.00 g/cm³, at 4 °C and becomes less dense as the water molecules begin to form the hexagonal crystals of ice as the temperature drops to 0 °C. (In fact, the word "crystal" derives from Greek word for frost.) This is due to hydrogen bonds forming between the water molecules, which line up molecules less efficiently (in terms of volume) when water is frozen. The result of this is that ice floats on liquid water.

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Because when ice freezes, it expands. Since the mass stays the same but its volume increases, its density is decreased. Ice floats on water because it's less dense. Same reason why oil floats on top of water -- oil is less dense than water.

BrandonR

Ice is less dense because the H20 molecules are in a crystal structure, and thus, spread further apart than in the liquid state.

Farmer John

because it is less dense

★☆FR3SH★☆

beacuse it is less dense then water

charrxx

liquid is the denseist statee of waterrrrr so when its frozen it floats! wahlahh!! hahaha earthsciencee ewwww

hehe

becasue ice has a lower density than water.

knoeier0 O

When water freezes it expands and the volume of the water mass will increase by 8% which will result in a decline in the density of the water, which results in the ice being able to float on the water as it is less dense.

busty f

All materials change density when they go from the liquid to the solid state. For most materials, freezing results in an increase in density, so that the solid sinks in the liquid. This is because freezing involves crystallization, and in most materials the orderly arrangement of the molecules in a crystalline solid means nice, tight packing and thus an increase in density over the more chaotic liquid. But the water molecule has a queer shape that makes it impossible to pack efficiently in a crystal structure. Ice is a rather loose (though orderly) packing and the density is less than that of liquid water. Thus ice floats on water. It's a good thing it does. Otherwise, lakes would freeze solid in winter and fish would have a very "hard" time. There are a few other such "icelike" materials. The best known are the metals bismuth and antimony. They are used in precision casting, since the expansion on freezing forces the material into the tiniest nooks and crannies and corners of the mold.

Scott L

as water cools, the molecules get closer together, but when they hit 4 degrees Celsius they start to move apart again. by the time it is ice (0 degrees) its molecules are so far apart that it is less dense than liquid water, causing the ice to float.

brittany

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