Our Science Experiment

In Room 10 this week, we have been discussing ice. We discussed how icy conditions make the roads dangerous during the winter.

To investigate this, we filled some trays with water and put them in the freezer overnight. The water turned into ice. We tried driving some toy cars on the ice. It was very slippery and it was hard to make the cars drive in a straight line!

We decided that we needed to put something on the ice to make it easier for the cars to drive. We put some salt on the ice first. It melted the surface of the ice, but it was still very slippery. Next, we put some sand on the ice. This worked very well! It made the surface of the ice rough, which meant that the cars’ wheels could grip it better. It was much easier to drive the cars in a straight line.

After discussing the results of our experiment, we decided that a mixture of salt and sand was best. It works for the real roads too! When the road is icy, the council ‘grit’ the road, spreading salt and sand on the surface. This makes the roads safer for all who use them.

We had a lot of fun investigating ice! Click on the photos to see…