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Has to do with expansion and contraction. And why does water expand when it freezes into ice? Detailed explanations please.

2007-04-15 20:27:29 · 6 answers · asked by SkyeSkyeSkyeBlue 2 in Science & Mathematics Physics

6 answers

When liquid water is cooled, it contracts like one would expect until a temperature of approximately 4 degrees Celsius is reached. After that, it expands slightly until it reaches the freezing point, and then when it freezes it expands by approximately 9%.

This unusual behavior has its origin in the structure of the water molecule. There is a strong tendency to form a network of hydrogen bonds, where each hydrogen atom is in a line between two oxygen atoms. This hydrogen bonding tendency gets stronger as the temperature gets lower (because there is less thermal energy to shake the hydrogen bonds out of position). The ice structure is completely hydrogen bonded, and these bonds force the crystalline structure to be very "open".

Thus, when the tightly stoppered bottle full of water is frozen, it bursts out to accomodate the 9% additional volume.

Do refer: http://www.iapws.org/faq1/freeze.htm for further info.

2007-04-15 20:36:28 · answer #1 · answered by Tiger Tracks 6 · 0 0

I think "tightly stoppered" means it isn't allowed to expand, then the water would cool past the normal freezing point staying in liquid form.

2007-04-15 20:33:18 · answer #2 · answered by eviljebus 3 · 0 0

The bottle will break, just as water pipes frozen in winter often break. Ice is less dense than water because the crystalline structure of ice establishes a fixed distance between atoms which is larger than the average distance between atoms of water in the liquid state.

2007-04-15 20:36:34 · answer #3 · answered by gp4rts 7 · 0 0

It relies upon... in case you fill a bottle in general packed with water and weigh it, then freeze it and weigh it back, it is going to weigh the same. in spite of the undeniable fact that, a bottle finished to the brim with liquid water will actual weigh extra effective than the same bottle finished to the brim of ice. Water expands because it freezes using crystalline shape of ice. This makes ice much less dense than liquid water, that's the reason the ice floats to the coolest of your drink. in case you enable that comparable bottle this is finished to the brim with ice soften, you will discover the water does not bypass all a thank you to the coolest anymore because of the fact the water shriveled because it thawed.

2016-11-24 21:56:32 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

either bottle will break or water will go below freezing and stay liquid b/c as ice forms it requires more space to crystalize

2007-04-15 20:43:31 · answer #5 · answered by NitesTime 2 · 0 0

Molecules in water are very closely bonded, when frozen, they disperse which results in increase in volume, hence the bottle breaks.

2007-04-15 20:38:38 · answer #6 · answered by manjunath_empeetech 6 · 0 1

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