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Freezing Point of Salt Water Answer Key

Vocabulary: freeze, freezing point, liquid, melt, melting point, solid, transformation rate

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo .)

[Note: The purpose of these questions is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking.
Students are not expected to know the answers to the Prior Knowledge Questions.]

1. In the winter, people often buy large bags of rock salt to sprinkle on their walkways. Why do
people do this?

Answers will vary. [People use salt to prevent ice from forming on the walkways.]

2. The freezing point of pure water is 0 °C (32 °F). How do you think adding salt to water
affects its freezing point?

Answers will vary. [Adding salt to water lowers its freezing point.]

Gizmo Warm-up
People often use salt to alter the freezing point of water.
The Freezing Point of Salt Water Gizmo shows you how
this works.

1. With the Room temp. set to 0.0 °C, observe the water
molecules in the Molecular view. Describe the motion
of water molecules in the liquid phase:

The molecules are moving and colliding with one

another. Some molecules are moving faster than others.

2. Set the Room temp. to -10.0 °C and observe. What is happening?

The water is freezing.

The process of changing from a liquid to a solid is called freezing.

3. Describe the motion of molecules in a solid:

The water molecules stop moving around and begin to vibrate in place.

2019
mike martynyshyn (mmartynyshyn) - [email protected] - 133018673
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Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:

Freezing point  Click Reset.
depression  Set the Room temp. to 5.0 °C.

Question: How does salt affect the freezing point of water and the melting point of ice?

1. Observe: With the room temperature at 5.0 °C, the water should be in a liquid state. Lower
the Room temp. one degree at a time until the water first starts to freeze. Look at the
thermometer inside the container of water

A. What is the freezing point of pure water? The freezing point of pure water is 0.0 °C.

B. Lower the Room temp. a few more degrees. What do you notice about the water
temperature as the water is freezing?

The water temperature stays constant at 0.0 °C as the water is freezing.

C. Lower the Room temp. to -10.0 °C, wait until all the water has frozen, and then wait
a little while more. What happens to the ice temperature after all the water is frozen?

After all the water is frozen, the temperature of the ice drops until it is equal to the
room temperature.

D. Now raise the Room temp. back to 5.0 °C and observe the thermometer inside the
container. At what temperature does the ice melt? This is the melting point of ice.

The ice starts to melt when its temperature reaches 0.0 °C.

2. Predict: How do you think adding salt will affect the freezing and melting points of water?

Predictions will vary.

3. Experiment: Click the Add 50 g button to add 50 grams of salt to the water. Lower the
Room temp. to -10.0 °C and observe the temperature as the water freezes.\

What is the freezing point of this salt solution? The freezing point is -3.1 °C.

4. Observe: Look for the salt particles in the ice. What do you notice?

The salt particles are not frozen into the ice but continue to move below the ice.

(Activity A continued on next page)

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mike martynyshyn (mmartynyshyn) - [email protected] - 133018673
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Activity A (continued from previous page)

5. Experiment: After the water has completely frozen, raise the Room temp. to 5.0 °C.
Observe the water temperature as the ice melts.

What is the melting point of this salt solution? The melting point is also -3.1 °C.

6. Collect data: Use the data you have collected so far to fill in the first two rows of the table
below. Then, find the freezing and melting points of water with 100 grams of salt.

Amount of salt (g) Freezing point (°C) Melting point (°C)

0g 0.0 °C 0.0 °C
50 g -3.1 °C -3.1 °C
100 g -6.3 °C -6.3 °C

7. Summarize: How does increasing the concentration of salt affect the freezing and melting
points of water?

The greater the salt concentration is, the lower the freezing and melting points of water.

8. Analyze: How much is the freezing point lowered by adding 50 g of salt? About 3.15 °C

9. Test: Based on your data, what do you expect the freezing and melting points to be when
150 grams of salt are added? How about with 200 grams of salt? Write your predictions in
the appropriate columns below.

Freezing Point Freezing Point Melting point Melting Point

Amount of salt
(predicted) (actual) (predicted) (actual)
Predictions will Predictions will
150 g -9.4 °C -9.4 °C
vary. vary.
Predictions will Less than Predictions will Less than
200 g
vary. [-12.6 °C] -10 °C vary. [-12.6 °C] -10 °C

After writing your predictions, use the Gizmo to find the actual values. Fill in as much of the
table as you can. (Write “less than -10 °C “ or “< -10 °C “ if the actual value is less than the
minimum room temperature available in the Gizmo.)

10. Think and discuss: Why do people add salt to roads and walkways in the winter?

Salt is added to lower the freezing point of water and prevent ice from forming.

2019
mike martynyshyn (mmartynyshyn) - [email protected] - 133018673
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Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:

Transformation  Click Reset.
rates  Turn on the Transformation rate checkbox.

Introduction: The transformation rate is the speed at which particles are changing from one
phase to another. In the Transformation rate display, the purple bar represents the speed of
liquid water changing to ice, while the green bar indicates the speed of ice changing to liquid.

Question: How does salt affect transformation rates?

1. Observe: Move the Room temp. slider back and forth, and observe the effect on the
transformation rates. What do you observe?

As room temperature decreases, the water-to-ice rate increases and the ice-to-water rate
decreases. As the room temperature increases, the water-to-ice rate decreases and the ice-
to-water rate increases.

2. Explain: As the temperature of a liquid increases, the average speed of the molecules
increases as well. How does this account for the observed changes in transformation rates?

When molecules are moving faster, it is less likely that they will stick together to form a solid.
Therefore, increasing the temperature causes ice to melt by breaking the bonds holding the
molecules together.

3. Predict: How will adding salt affect the water-to-ice and ice-to-water transformation rates?

Predictions will vary.

4. Experiment: Set the Room temp. to -5.0 °C, and observe the transformation rates. Add 50 g
of salt before the ice reaches the bottom of the funnel.

A. How does adding salt affect each transformation rate?

Adding salt reduces the water-to-ice rate but does not affect the ice-to-water rate.

B. Now add 50 more grams of salt. What happens now?

The ice-to-water rate is now greater than the water-to-ice rate, and the ice melts.

2019
mike martynyshyn (mmartynyshyn) - [email protected] - 133018673