Core Practical: Investigating Changes of State
4 guided lessons · 36 checks · 5. Solids, Liquids and Gases → Changes of State
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Aim and equipment of the melting-ice practical
The investigation has one target: record how the temperature of crushed ice behaves as it is heated steadily, and reveal the plateau at the melting point. The kit list is deliberately ordinary so the plateau is not hidden by apparatus quirks.
What you know already
This practical watches ice become water on a temperature–time graph and catches the melting plateau red-handed: while the change of state runs, the thermometer refuses to move. The method, the expected flat region, and the honest error analysis are all part of the mark scheme.
Key points of understanding
- The aim is to obtain a temperature–time graph showing constant temperature while ice melts.
- Crushed ice is used so the thermometer bulb makes good thermal contact throughout the sample.
- A thermometer, a beaker, a heat source and a stopwatch form the core equipment set.
- Readings are taken at regular, equal intervals of time so the graph is fair.
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1.Aim and equipment of the melting-ice practical
The investigation has one target: record how the temperature of crushed ice behaves as it is heated steadily, and reveal the plateau at the melting point. The kit list is deliberately ordinary so the plateau is not hidden by apparatus quirks.
Key points
- The aim is to obtain a temperature–time graph showing constant temperature while ice melts.
- Crushed ice is used so the thermometer bulb makes good thermal contact throughout the sample.
- A thermometer, a beaker, a heat source and a stopwatch form the core equipment set.
- Readings are taken at regular, equal intervals of time so the graph is fair.
First pass
Melt some crushed ice with a gentle flame, note the temperature every half-minute, and plot temperature against time. The graph should climb, sit flat at zero degrees while the ice melts, then climb again.
Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_F4DQN5PJR8qD7dbw, pinned at 8788fc85a2c1 · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources b3caaaa90c5e
