Student Exploration: Phase Changes

Vocabulary: altitude, boil, boiling point, freeze, freezing point, gas, liquid, melt, melting point, phase, solid

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. A family from Minnesota turns off the heat and flies to Florida for a winter holiday. When they come home, all of
their water pipes have burst. What do you think happened?

The pipe bursted because water expanded when it froze

2. Spaghetti takes about 9 minutes to cook at sea level, but about 14 minutes in the mountains. Why do you think this
is so?

At high altitudes, air pressure is lower.

Gizmo Warm-up
In the Phase Changes Gizmo, select Micro view and set the Ice volume to 50 cm . Notice the nitrogen (), oxygen (), and
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water () molecules.

Click Play () and observe water molecules in the solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (air) phases.

1. In which phase(s) are the molecules held rigidly together? Solid phase

2. In which phase(s) do the molecules move freely?

Gas, liquid

3. In which phase(s) are the molecules held in a defined shape? Solid

4. In which phase(s) do the molecules take the shape of their container? Gas, liquid

Activity A:

Phase changes
Get the Gizmo ready:

● Click Reset () and select Macro view.

● Set the Water temperature to 10 °C.
● Set the Ice volume to 0 cm . 3

Question: How is temperature related to phase changes?

1. Predict: Based on your prior knowledge, predict the following:

A. At what temperature will water change from a liquid to a solid (freeze)? 0°

B. At what temperature will water change from a solid to a liquid (melt)? 100
C. At what temperature will water change from a liquid to a gas (boil)? 212 degrees f or 100
degrees c

2. Investigate: Use the Gizmo to explore phase changes. Use the Add/remove heat energy slider to control the
water temperature. Record your observations in your notes, then answer the questions below:

A. At what temperature does water freeze? 32 degrees f This is the freezing point.
B. At what temperature does ice melt? 32°F This is the melting point.
C. At what temperature does water boil? 212°F This is the boiling point.

3. Observe: Set up the Gizmo to observe freezing. What do you notice about the temperature while the water is in the
process of freezing? The temperature remains constant

4. Explore: Use the Gizmo to investigate melting and boiling. Does the temperature change while either of these
phase changes is occurring? No the temperature is constant

5. Interpret: Select the GRAPH tab to see a graph of temperature vs. time. Click the “–” button until the whole graph
is visible. What does the graph look like during a phase change?

6. Extend your thinking: Why do you think the temperature does not change much during a phase change? If
possible, discuss your answer with your classmates and teacher.

The rate of temperature change does not stay constant and decreases over time because the temperature difference
decreases over time.
Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:

Temperature and
● Click Reset, and select the Micro view.
● Set Ice volume to 0 cm .
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molecular motion ● Set Add/remove heat energy to 0 J/s.

Question: Why do phase changes occur?

1. Compare: Set the Water temperature to 0 °C and click Play. Observe the water molecules. Click Reset, set the
Water temperature to 100 °C, and click Play again.

What do you notice? The water molecules more slightly faster than 100 degrees c than at 0 degrees

2. Observe: Click Reset. The mean molecular speed of the water molecules is displayed below the container. Set
the Water temperature to 0 °C and Add/remove heat energy to 400 J/s. Click Play.

A. How does the mean speed of the water molecules change as they are heated?

The average speed of water molecules increases as they are heated

B. Does the mean molecular speed change as much as the temperature as the water heats up?
Explain.

For each degree of temperature change, the mean molecular speed increases by about 1 m/s.

3. Explain: How is temperature related to the motions of molecules? The higher the temperature, the faster the
molecules move

4. Observe: Click Reset. Set the Water temperature to 20 °C and the Ice volume to 50 cm . Set Add/remove heat
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energy to 0 J/s. Click Play. How do the molecules in the liquid interact with the molecules in the solid?

The molecules of the liquid collide with the molecules of solid, gradually breaking the bonds between the molecules in the
solid and causing the ice to melt

(Activity B continued on next page)

Activity B (continued from previous page)
5. Observe: Click Reset. Set the Water temperature to 100 °C and the Ice volume to 50 cm . Click Play. How does
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this situation compare to the previous one?

The molecules of the liquid are moving faster now, and the ice melts much more quickly

6. Propose a theory: Based on what you have observed, explain why you think phase changes occur. If possible,
discuss your theory with your classmates and teacher.

Phase changes occur because of the energy of molecular motion As heat is added to a solid, the molecules break out of
their bonds and begin to move freely causing the solid to melt. As heat is added to a liquid the molecules move faster and
faster until they break free and the liquid becomes gas

7. Apply: Use your theory to explain what happens at the molecular level in each of the following situations. Also, list
the temperature at which each transition occurs.

A. Ice is warmed to the melting point.

Frozen water molecules move vibrate more and more until they break free of the ice crystal
Temperature: 0

B. Water is warmed to the boiling point.

Liquid water molecules move faster and faster until they break free of the liquid
Temperature: 100 degrees c

C. Water is cooled to the freezing point.

Liquid water molecules move more and more slowly until they begin to stick together to form an ice crystal
Temperature: 0

8. Extend your thinking: Click Reset. Set the Water temperature to 0 °C, the Ice volume to
0 cm , and Add/remove heat energy to -400 J/s. Click Play and wait until all of the water freezes.
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A. What volume of ice is created from 200 cm of water? 217.4 cc

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B. Why do water pipes sometimes burst in the winter? When water freezes into ice it expands
which can cause a pipe to burst.
Activity C:

Altitude and phase changes

Get the Gizmo ready:

● Click Reset.
● Set Ice volume to 0 cm . 3

● Set the Altitude to 5,000 meters (16,404 feet).

Question: The altitude of a location is its vertical distance above sea level. How does altitude affect phase
changes?

1. Form a hypothesis: As altitude increases, the air pressure decreases. How do you think the lower pressure will
affect the following? (Circle your answers.)

A. Freezing point: Increase Stay the same Decrease

B. Melting point: Increase Stay the same Decrease

C. Boiling point: Increase Stay the same Decrease

2. Experiment: Use the Gizmo to find the freezing, melting, and boiling points of water at 5,000 meters (16,404 feet).
Write these values below.

Freezing point: 32 degrees F Melting point: 32 degrees F Boiling point: 203 degreesF

3. Analyze: How did altitude affect the freezing, melting, and boiling points of water?

Th vapor pressure of a liquid equals the external pressure.

4. Challenge: Try to explain these results based on the fact that air pressure decreases with altitude. If possible,
discuss your ideas with your classmates and teacher.
5. Apply: Why does pasta take longer to cook in the mountains? Water will boil at high altitudes, but it is not as hot as
boiling water at sea level

6. Apply: A pressure cooker allows food to be cooked under high pressure. Why is this useful?

The higher pressure allows the cooking to be done in water at a higher temperature which means the cooking goes
faster without drying out the food