Bayer MSMS | Why do ice cubes float?

www.bayerus.com/msms -- Ever wonder why ice cubes float?

Let's make sense of it with science!

As you know, ice cubes are frozen water. The molecules in water are bound tightly together. But when that water freezes, the molecules arrange themselves in a hexagonal shape with a large empty space in the middle. That's why ice is less dense than water.

Which leads us to why ice cubes float. And straight into this glass of water.

Okay, here we are, on the rocks. Although, at our size, those ice cubes looks more like icebergs.

I can tell you why ice floats in two words. Archimedes' Principle. Of course, Archimedes' Principle takes a bit more explaining.

The whole idea is, when you place something, like our ice cube, in water, the water will push against it and support its weight.

Hold on! Okay, this support is called buoyancy force.

If buoyancy force is more than or equal to an objects weight, then the object will float. If the object weighs more than the buoyancy force, it'll sink.

Since this ice we're sitting on is less dense than water, it floats.

Say someone dropped a stone in this glass of water.

Because the stone is denser than water, it's heavier than the buoyancy force.

So it sinks.

Well, that should give you something to pour over today. And now you know; it all makes sense with science.

This has been presented by Bayer Corporation's national education program, Making Science Make Sense.

Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the U.S. subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. Our business activities focus on health care, crop science and high-tech materials. To learn more, visit: www.bayerus.com/msms/. "Like" us on Facebook facebook.com/BayerMSMS and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/BayerMSMS. Thank you for viewing!

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