Observation Lab: Ice In Water                                     

This year in Earth Science, we are going to be taking a closer look at many processes that you have noticed before, but probably never really examined and questioned.  You are going to start out by looking at something that you have seen literally hundreds, probably thousands of times before - ice cubes in water.  When we observe things, questions frequently come to mind.  In this case, you may actually know the answers to some of the questions that might pop into your head if this was the first time you were observing this phenomenon.  But you will be allowed to pretend that you do not know the answers to any except the most basic questions.

Write your name and class neatly at the top of a piece of looseleaf paper.  This is going to be your lab report sheet for this investigation.  Using one or more complete sentences, explain the purpose of this investigation.  Read the lab sheet and think before you write down the purpose.

Take a colorless, plain, drinking glass and fill it almost to the top with cold sink water.  Leave enough room for three ice cubes.

Now place three ice cubes into the glass, and put it on a counter where it will not be disturbed for half an hour.  Be sure that folks in your house know it is your homework, and do not drink it.  Set a timer to ring every five minutes.

Draw a picture of the glass, water, and ice cubes as soon as you put it on the counter.  Draw a data table on your paper with the following headings:

Continue to observe the glass every 5 minutes for one half hour or until the ice melts, whichever comes first.  You should have at least five questions on your list.

Now pick two of the questions, and for each one list as many different ways as you can think of to find the answer.  You do not actually have to find the answer, only indicate what you could do to find out.

* * * * * 

Name __________________________     Class  _______

Observation Lab #1 - Ice in Water

Scoring Rubric

This scoring sheet will give you an idea of what I consider to be important when reading your lab report.  For each category, the highest number reflects the most points you can receive.  In a 5 point category, 5 would mean that you accomplished the task very well, 4 moderately well, 3 average, 2 below average, 1 poorly, and 0 not at all.

Name and Class appear at the top of the page.                                  2       1       0

Statement of Purpose is accurate and clear.         5        4        3        2       1       0

Picture appears accurate (note - I am not grading           4        3        2       1       0

     your artwork).

Data Table                                                                         3        2       1       0

Times are listed                                                         4        3        2       1       0

Quality of observations                                      5        4        3        2       1       0

Quality of questions                                          5        4        3        2       1       0

How to find the answer to questions                    5        4        3        2       1       0

Report looks as if care was taken with it                        4        3        2       1       0

Please staple this page to the front of your labsheet.