I apparently think just like my 3rd grade students. I honestly thought that when the ice cubes melted, the level of the water would rise and overflow onto the counter top. To my dismay, I was shocked to see that the water did not over flow. This did make me start to think, would that mean that if the polar ice caps melted, than the Earth would not get flooded? This is true, only if the polar ice cap is solid ice already emerged in water. If the polar ice cap is floating on top of the water, then the water level would in fact rise.
I truly enjoyed this experiment. I would like to redo this experiment with my students to lead an investigation on global warming and the affects people have on the environment.
Sara,
ReplyDeleteYou've done a nice job on your blog site! You seem like you were very surprised that the water did not overflow for the Iceberg activity. It's the density principle at work. Think about it.
Sara,
ReplyDeleteI think your third graders will love it! I am pretty sure that they will make the same assumption in thinking that the water would flow over and may want to investigate further to understand why it did not go as expected. Great lesson on the scientific process in the works I think.