Hands on experiment video to study cold and hot water density

Thanks to the video "Experiencing density with hot and cold water", your students will be able to observe the difference in density between a warmer water and the other.

application/pdf Experiment instructions © Carol Brieseman, New Zealand /Hampton Hill School    

  

20 minutes / 15 students 
Type of content: experimental activity to be done in class
  
Materials required: a tray (or use a sink if one is nearby), two identical glasses, some cardboard, two  types of food colouring, very cold water, hot water

 

Follow step by step the experimental protocol on this video to introduce to your students the notion of difference in density between cold and hot water. 
   

Experiment on water densityCold water is more dense than hot water and will sink to the bottom of the glass. This is what happens in the ocean. As the cold-water particles are more compact, the water is more dense and ends up at the bottom of the ocean. 

To carry out this activity, you also have a written document presenting the steps and a discussion section.