States of Water Water is one of the few things that is found in nature as a solid, liquid and a gas
Solid Water - Ice When water freezes, it expands or gets bigger Molecules vibrate back and forth but do not move to different positions Ice floats in water because it is less dense speed of molecules - very slow
Liquid - Water molecules move freely so sometimes they bump into each other most things dissolve in water which makes water the universal solvent greatest range of temperatures very cold water to very hot water speed of molecules - medium
Gas - Water Vapor molecules move quickly and far apart water in a gas state is called water vapor speed of molecules - very fast
Evaporation Liquid water changing to water vapor (a gas) Condensation Water vapor(gas) changing to liquid water
The Water Cycle Evaporation - heat from the Sun makes the liquid water molecules move faster and evaporate or change into a gas Condensation - water vapor molecules floating in the air cool down and change back into a liquid (clouds) Precipitation - the water drops in the cloud get bigger and bigger (cohesion) until eventually they fall as rain or snow
Why does ice float? Ice is less dense than liquid water When water freezes, the water molecules move farther apart which makes water expand or take up more space when it freezes. Have you ever put a water bottle into the freezer so it gets cold faster? What happened if you forgot it was there? It is a good thing ice floats so fish survive underneath the ice and polar bears and penguins walk on top of the ice
www.explorelearning.com - Phases of Water