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2nd Grade Science (Next Generation Science Standards) • Earth’s Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth

Where Does the Ice Go?

Let's explore what happens when ice cubes change — and discover that water can be a solid or a liquid!

Explore the lesson 7 min read
A microscope with leaf and experiment flask for elementary science discovery
Inside this lesson 9 sections 4 questions 5 figures

SECTION 1

What's Happening?

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🔍 LOOK AT THIS!

Where did the ice cube go? What is the puddle made of?

Before ⏰Ice Cube 🧊Time passesAfter ⏰Puddle of Water 💧
An ice cube on a plate changes into a puddle of water over time.
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💭 THINKING QUESTIONS
  • What do you think happened to the ice cube?
  • Is the puddle the same thing as the ice cube, or something different?

SECTION 2

Big Ideas About Water

Water is amazing! It can look and feel very different. Sometimes water is hard and cold, like an ice cube. Sometimes water is a flowing liquid, like what comes out of a faucet. But it is ALL still water!

1

Water as a Solid

When water gets very cold, it becomes ice. Ice is water as a solid (that means it is hard and keeps its shape). You can hold an ice cube in your hand. It does not change shape by itself.
2

Water as a Liquid

Liquid water flows and moves. It takes the shape of whatever holds it — a cup, a bowl, or a puddle on the ground. You can pour liquid water. You cannot pour ice!

SECTION 3

Let's Try It!

Scientists learn by watching carefully and writing down what they see. We call this observing. Let's be scientists and observe what happens to ice!

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🔬 LET'S TRY THIS!

Ice Cube Observation

Here is a simple activity you can do at home or at school:

You will need: 2 ice cubes, 1 plate, 1 cup of warm water

  • Put one ice cube on a plate. Look at it carefully. Touch it. How does it feel? Is it hard or soft? Write down or draw what you see.
  • Put the other ice cube into the cup of warm water. Watch what happens. What do you see?
  • Wait 10 minutes. Go back and look at the plate and the cup. What changed? Draw or write what you see now.
Solid Ice vs. Liquid Water🧊 SOLID (Ice)✔ Hard and firm✔ Keeps its shape✔ Very cold✔ You can hold it✔ Does NOT pourExamples: ice cubes, icicles,frozen puddles, snow💧 LIQUID (Water)✔ Wet and flowing✔ Takes the shape of its holder✔ Can be warm or cold✔ You can pour it✔ Splashes and dripsExamples: tap water, rain,puddles, ocean, rivers
Comparison diagram showing properties of solid ice versus liquid water.

SECTION 4

What We Found Out

When we watched the ice cube on the plate, we saw it get smaller and smaller. A puddle of water grew around it. The ice was melting! Melting means the solid ice was turning into liquid water.

The ice cube in the warm water melted even faster! The warm water made the ice change more quickly. But the same thing happened — the solid ice turned into liquid water.

Here is the important part: the ice did not disappear. It changed from a solid to a liquid. It was water the whole time! Water can be solid ice OR it can be liquid water.

What We ObservedIce on the PlateIce in Warm Water
At the start🧊 Hard ice cube sitting on plate🧊 Hard ice cube floating in water
After 5 minutes💧 Smaller ice cube, small puddle💧 Much smaller ice cube, more water
After 10 minutes💧 Tiny ice piece, bigger puddle💧 No ice left! All liquid water

Observation results from the ice cube investigation

SECTION 5

Spot the Pattern!

Scientists look for patterns. A pattern is when something happens the same way again and again. Can you spot the pattern with water?

When things get cold enough, liquid water turns into solid ice. When things get warm enough, solid ice turns back into liquid water. This pattern happens every time! It does not matter if it is a tiny ice cube or a big frozen lake.

The Water Pattern 🔄💧LIQUIDWater🧊SOLIDIce❄️ Gets coldFREEZES☀️ Gets warmMELTSThis pattern happens EVERYWHERE — freezers, ponds, puddles, and glaciers!
The water pattern: cold makes water freeze into ice, warm makes ice melt into water.

You can see this pattern in lots of places:

PlaceWater as Solid (Ice)Water as Liquid
🏠 Your Kitchen🧊 Ice cubes in the freezer💧 Water from the faucet
🌳 Outside❄️ Frozen puddles in winter💧 Rain puddles in spring
🏔️ Mountains❄️ Snow and glaciers💧 Rivers and streams

SECTION 6

Water in the Real World

People use what they know about solid and liquid water every day!

1

Keeping Food Cold

We put water in ice cube trays and freeze them. The liquid water becomes solid ice. We put that ice in coolers to keep our food cold on a picnic!
2

Icy Roads

In winter, liquid water on roads can freeze into solid ice. This makes roads slippery. Workers put salt on roads because salt helps ice melt back into liquid water!

Can you think of other times people need to know about ice and water? What about ice skating? The solid ice on a rink is frozen water. What about making a snowman? Snow is tiny pieces of solid water!

SECTION 7

Words to Know

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📖 KEY VOCABULARY
  • Solid — Something that is hard and keeps its own shape. Ice is a solid.
  • Liquid — Something that flows and takes the shape of what holds it. Water from the faucet is a liquid.
  • Ice — Water when it is a solid. Ice is very cold and hard.
  • Melt — When a solid turns into a liquid. Ice melts into liquid water when it gets warm.
  • Freeze — When a liquid turns into a solid. Water freezes into ice when it gets very cold.

SECTION 8

Show What You Know!

Question 1: Warm-Up

Emma fills a cup with water and puts it in the freezer overnight. In the morning, the water has turned into a hard, cold block. What form of water is now in the cup?
  • A. It is still liquid water.
  • B. It is ice, which is solid water.
  • C. It is steam, which is hot water.
  • D. It is juice because the freezer changed it.
Show answer
The correct answer is B. When liquid water gets very cold in a freezer, it turns into ice, which is the solid form of water. It becomes hard and keeps its shape. A is wrong because the water is no longer a liquid — it changed into a solid. C is wrong because steam is made when water gets very hot, not cold. D is wrong because a freezer does not change water into a different substance like juice — it is still water, just in solid form.

Question 2: On Track

Leo's dog has a water bowl outside. On a warm summer day, Leo sees that the water in the bowl flows and splashes when his dog drinks from it. What form is the water in?
  • A. The water is a solid because it is in a bowl.
  • B. The water is frozen because it is outside.
  • C. The water is a liquid because it flows and splashes.
  • D. The water is a solid because the dog can drink it.
Show answer
The correct answer is C. Liquid water flows, pours, and splashes. It takes the shape of whatever container it is in. A is wrong because being in a bowl does not make something a solid — liquids also go in bowls. B is wrong because on a warm summer day, water would not be frozen. D is wrong because dogs drink liquid water, not solid water. The fact that it flows and splashes tells us it is a liquid.

Question 3: On Track

Mia is at a skating rink. She notices the surface she skates on is hard and very cold. Which sentence best describes what the skating surface is made of?
  • A. The surface is made of liquid water that is easy to walk on.
  • B. The surface is made of ice, which is water in its solid form.
  • C. The surface is made of plastic because water cannot be hard.
  • D. The surface is made of cold liquid water that stays flat.
Show answer
The correct answer is B. A skating rink has a surface made of ice, which is water in its solid form. Ice is hard and cold and keeps its shape, so people can skate on it. A is wrong because liquid water would not be hard enough to skate on — you would splash through it. C is wrong because water absolutely can be hard when it freezes into ice. D is wrong because liquid water cannot stay flat and firm enough to skate on — it would flow around.

Question 4: Challenge

Aiden takes an ice cube out of the freezer and puts it on a plate on the kitchen counter. After 30 minutes, he sees a small puddle of water on the plate and the ice cube is gone. What happened?
  • A. The solid ice melted and became liquid water because the kitchen was warm.
  • B. The ice cube disappeared and new water appeared from the air.
  • C. The ice stayed solid but became invisible on the plate.
  • D. The plate made the ice cube turn into a different material.
Show answer
The correct answer is A. When solid ice warms up, it melts and turns into liquid water. The warm kitchen caused the ice cube to change from a solid to a liquid, leaving a puddle on the plate. B is wrong because the puddle did not come from the air — it came from the ice cube itself melting. C is wrong because ice does not become invisible; it changed into liquid water. D is wrong because the plate did not change the ice into something new — ice is water and the puddle is also water, just in liquid form.

SECTION 9

What's Next?

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🔮 WHAT'S NEXT?

Varsity Tutors • 2nd Grade Science (NGSS) • Water as a Solid and Liquid