Properties and Effects of Heat

In sixth grade science, we have been learning about the properties and effects of heat. In this experiment we were seeing what happens to ice cubes when heat is applied. Students made predictions about how long it would take to melt. They were surprised that it took 14 minutes to melt and that it melted in the middle first and had frost on the outsides of the pan. They were also surprised at the uneven heating of the water after it melted. A student then asked what would happen if we tried to melt a solid block of ice rather than the ice cubes. Some predicted that it would take longer to melt because there was no air between cubes. We tried it also and it took 24 minutes to melt the same amount of ice in block form.