Sci Fri: Ice Fishing
Ice + Dry String
The object of our Ice Fishing experiment was to determine whether salt helps or hinders the process of picking up ice with a string.Originally the experiment suggested placing the ice in a bowl of water, but we discovered that method did not allow the ice to stick to the string, as the surface of the ice became smooth and slippery.
Our second attempt, we opted not to use a bowl of water and placed the ice directly on a dry surface.
We were able to pick up the ice using a dry string.
However, when we added salt to the surface of the ice, the string actually held fast to the shape of the ice, where the salt had been sprinkled.
Ice + Salt + Dry String
It is similar to using salt for safety on the sidewalk; salt melts ice by lowering the freezing point of the water (Freezing Point Depression).