Water, in all its forms

Globule wonders...

How many different forms of water are there?

Experiment: Water, in all its forms

Hypotheses: Ask the children the following questions: How many forms of water can we observe? What is ice? How does water turn into ice? Can you name the other forms of water (snow, vapour)?

Material:

• One ice cube per child in a small plate
• A plastic container to make ice cubes
• A kettle
• Water

Manipulation:

1. Your daycare worker will give you a small plate with an ice cube in it. Hold the ice cube in your hands. What do you notice? Why is the ice cube melting? Encourage children to realize that the warmth of their hands is melting the ice.
   
   
2. Try to catch the water in your plate.
   
   
3. How could we turn the water into ice again? Fill the plastic container with water and place it in the freezer. You will have to wait several hours before seeing the result. The frozen water will have taken the shape of the container.
   
   
4. Now that you have seen both the solid (ice) and liquid (water) states, do you think water can have other forms?
   
   
5. Your daycare worker must do the manipulation for the next step of the experiment. She will pour 1 or 2 cups of water into the kettle and bring it to a boil. Do not come near the kettle, it's very hot!
   
   
6. What is happening? What is coming out of the kettle? Can you name this other form of water? It is steam.
   
   
7. Let the water boil until there is no longer any steam coming out of the kettle. The kettle is now empty.Where did all the water go?

Explanation: All substances belong to one of three categories: solid, liquid, or gas (vapour). Substances can change. You observed this during your experiment. For a substance to change category, the temperature of the substance must vary. Water (liquid) at room temperature became ice (solid) when it became cold in the freezer. Water (liquid) at room temperature was heated and became vapour (gas). The vapour dissipated in the air.

You can easily observe rain changing to snow outside. Snowflakes are miniscule ice crystals, the solid state of water.

Angélique Boissonneault

has a Bachelor's Degree in Biological Science. She has worked in a laboratory and tested her knowledge. She has taught Math, Chemistry, and Physics. She has also developed a simplistic and innovative approach designed to introduce young children to scientific experiments, old and new. She created her friend Globule. This character is sometimes red, and sometimes white. He guides little ones through their scientific experiments and discoveries. It is clear to see Angélique is passionate about children and science. Globule's Approach.