Sinking Ice

that would have saved the Titanic.

 

 

 

Category - Solids, Liquids & Gases

Key Idea - Density

 

Purpose - Shows the differences in density between water and mentholated spirits and the relationship between density and floating.
Nature -  Demonstration or Practical
Materials -  2 x 250ml beakers, Metholated spirits, water, ice cubes
Method - 
  1. Half fill one beaker with water and the other with metholated spirits
  2. Drop an ice cube into the water and observe what happens.
  3. Drop another cube into the metholated spirits and see the difference.
Safety - Nil
Explanation - Water and metholated spirits are of a different density, and the ice is less dense than water but more dense than metholated spirits For this reason the ice will float in water but not the metholated spirits.
Notes - As a practical this works better with test tubes and small pieces (crushed) of ice.  To make the demo more obvious try creating ice cubes from coloured water.  A similar principle is demonstrated by the Hanging Oil Drop.