Why does ice float on water?

Answer 1

When substances freeze, usually the molecules come closer together. Water has an abnormality there: it freezes below 0oC, but when temperatures fall to 4oC, water starts to expand and as a result the density is lower. Density of a substance means the weight in kilograms of a cubic metre of a substance. When two substances are mixed but do not dissolve in one another, the substance with the lowest density floats on the other substance. In this case that substance is ice, due to the increased density of water..

Answer 2

Ice floats on water as it has more density than water. Therefore, water can produce an upthrust enough to push ice upwards and, as a result, make it float.

Answer 3

Ice floats on water because it is far less denser than water.A water molecule is formed when two atoms of hydrogen bond covalently with an atom of oxygen. In a covalent bond electrons are shared between atoms. In water the sharing is not equal. The oxygen atom attracts the electrons more strongly than the hydrogen.This gives water an asymmetrical distribution of charge. Molecules that have ends with partial negative and positive charges are known as polar molecules. It is this polar property that allows water to separate polar solute molecules and explains why water can dissolve so The positive regions in one water will attract the negatively charged regions in other waters. The dashes show the hydrogen bond. In a hydrogen bond a hydrogen atom is shared by two other atoms. The donor is the atom to which the hydrogen is more tightly linked. The acceptor (having a partial negative charge) is the atom which attracts the hydrogen atom. Hydrogen bonds are much weaker than covalent bonds. However, when a large number of hydrogen bonds act in unison they will make a strong contributory effect.
Liquid water has a partially ordered structure in which hydrogen bonds are constantly being formed and breaking upIn liquid water each molecule is hydrogen bonded to approximately 3.4 other water molecules. In ice each each molecule is hydrogen bonded to 4 other molecules.
In ice Ih, each water forms four hydrogen bonds with O---O distances of 2.76 Angstroms to the nearest oxygen neighbor. The O-O-O angles are 109 degrees, typical of a tetrahedrally coordinated lattice structure. The density of ice Ih is 0.931 gm/cubic cm. This compares with a density of 1.00 gm/cubic cm. for water.

There are eleven different forms of crystalline ice that are know. The hexaganol form known as ice Ih is the only one that is found naturally.....

Answer 4

Owing to intermolecular hydrogen bonding, the molecules of solid water consume a lot of space and consequently for the same mass, the volume occupied by solid water molecules becomes greater than that of liquid water.

As we all know, Density = (Mass/Volume), with increase in volume, the density of ice decreases and thereby it floats on water.

Answer 5

Like all substances, water contracts as it is cooled from the room temperature. However, this contraction continues till the water reaches a temperature of 4 deg C. As water is cooled further, it starts expanding instead of contracting. This is because of internal rearrangement of its molecules, and is called anomalous expansion of water. Because of this, by the time water reaches a temperature of 0 deg C and starts freezing into ice, its volume is more than that at room temperature. This means that the density of ice is less than that of water at room temperature.

It is for this reason that ice floats on water.

Answer 6

ice floats on water because it is less dense than water. as water crystalizes, instead of the molecules getting packed tighter, the hydrogen bonds force the molecules to be more spread out. this causes a lower density of ice than water.

Answer 7

All supplies replace density whilst they circulate from the liquid to the solid state. for many supplies, freezing ends up in a upward push in density, so as that the solid sinks in the liquid. it incredibly is because of the fact freezing comprises crystallization, and in maximum supplies the orderly affiliation of the molecules in a crystalline good skill stunning, tight packing and hence a upward push in density over the extra chaotic liquid. however the water molecule has a queer shape that makes it impossible to %. effectively in a crystal shape. Ice is a marginally loose (in spite of the undeniable fact that orderly) packing and the density is decrease than that of liquid water. hence ice floats on water. it fairly is a sturdy difficulty it does. in any different case, lakes would freeze good in iciness and fish would have an exceedingly "no longer ordinary" time. There are some different such "icelike" supplies. the terrific popular are the metals bismuth and antimony. they're used in precision casting, because of the fact the expansion on freezing forces the textile into the tiniest nooks and crannies and corners of the mildew.

Answer 8

As Ice crystals form they trap air bubbles inside, therefore it floats as it is now less dense than the water.

A scientific way is to look at density. When ice forms from water it increases in volume.

Density = Mass / Volume

If the volume increases the density becomes less (the mass stays the same)

Answer 9

Cold contracts and heat expands in general.

But water is slightly different up to 4degree it follows the rule and it most dense at that temp., but then as the temp drops it expand, that makes it less denser then the water so it float on the water or in a glass of water.

Answer 10

Due to the anamolous behaviour of water, whereby it expands on cooling below 4 degrees celsius. Hence it becomes less dense than liquid water, and floats.