Why does a bucket of water weigh less than a bucket of ice?

Answer 1

The 1st and 3rd answerers above me have correctly identified the mistake in the question itself. Anyway, the answer is found in school science books and it is the density (mass per unit volume) of the ice is less than the density of water of given volume.

Therefore, you would also see that if a glass bottle is filled with water and allowed to get cooled inside the freezer, the bottle will crack when the inside water is turned into ice. This is because the volume of the ice increased and there were not space to accommodate "extra volume" created when ice was formed.

Nice learning!

Answer 2

Assuming the bucket is filled with solid ice so it has the same volume as the water, it depends on the temperature of the water. Water has its maximum density at 4 degrees Celsius, which explains why ice floats in cold water, so if the water is cold enough it will weigh more than an equal volume of ice.

If the density of water gets to be less than the density of ice before it turns to steam at 100 degrees (at sea level), then the bucket of water will weigh less than the bucket of ice.

Answer 3

A bucket of water will weigh more than a bucket of ice.

Ice weighs less than water, that's why ice floats on top of water.

Answer 4

It seems you are grossly mistaken, you should have asked this the other way round. Density of ice is lower than that of water ( you can check that it floats on water), so in a given volume, you will have more mass of water than ice. If you freeze one bucket of water, ice formed can crack your bucket or "overflow" it as that space is not enough for a bucket of ice!!

Answer 5

A substance floats if it is less dense, or has less mass per unit volume, than other components in a mixture. For example, if you toss a handful of rocks into a bucket of water, the rocks, which are dense compared to the water, will sink. The water, which is less dense than the rocks, will float. Basically, the rocks push the water out of the way, or displace it. For an object to be able to float, it has to displace a weight of fluid equal to its own weight. Water reaches its maximum density at 4°C (40°F). As it cools further and freezes into ice, it actually becomes less dense. On the other hand, most substances are most dense in their solid (frozen) state than in their liquid state. Water is different because of hydrogen bonding. A water molecule is made from one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, strongly joined to each other with covalent bonds. Water molecules are also attracted to each other by weaker chemical bonds (hydrogen bonds) between the positively-charged hydrogen atoms and the negatively-charged oxygen atoms of neighboring water molecules. As water cools below 4°C, the hydrogen bonds adjust to hold the negatively charged oxygen atoms apart. This produces a crystal lattice, which is commonly known as 'ice'. Ice floats because it is about 9% less dense than liquid water. In other words, ice takes up about 9% more space than water, so a liter of ice weighs less than a liter water. The heavier water displaces the lighter ice, so ice floats to the top. One consequence of this is that lakes and rivers freeze from top to bottom, allowing fish to survive even when the surface of a lake has frozen over. If ice sank, the water would be displaced to the top and exposed to the colder temperature, forcing rivers and lakes to fill with ice and freeze solid.

Answer 6

Unless water was lost over the side of the bucket during freezing, it doesn't. However it would be more bouyant because the ice is less dense.

Answer 7

because water can fill up the entire bucket it so it has more mass then if you fill it with ice.

Answer 8

because ice is more dense and therefore is heavier.

Answer 9

It does not