Oceans  and its Physical Properties

Question

The physical properties of water make it a very unusual substance and determine many of the properties of the oceans. Here are two simple experiments that can help us investigate how things dissolve in water and how water freezes.

Experiment

Materials:

A glass (with a smooth even rim), plate, spoon, water, confectioners (powdered) sugar

Procedure:

1. Fill the glass with water and place it on the plate.

2. Using the spoon, gently add water to the glass until the water begins to spill over the edge. At this point the water should be bulging above the rim of the glass.

3. Dry the spoon and slowly add scoops of confectioners sugar to the water.

4. Count how many scoops of sugar it takes to make the water overflow.

Discussion:

Report your results. Discuss what happened and give scientific explanations for what you observed. Based on what you know about the characteristics of water try to explain why water bulges above the rim of the glass, and why you can add a solid substance (the sugar) to the water without causing the water to overflow. How does this relate to the study of oceans?

Summary

This question belongs to ocean science and discusses about physical properties of oceans.

Word count: 334