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Ice & Snow

Know that water can be solid (ice and snow) or liquid, that snow is made of tiny frozen ice crystals, that icebergs are huge chunks of ice floating in the ocean with most of their bulk hidden underwater, and that ice floats because it is lighter than liquid water

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What a learner can do afterwards

  • Explain that ice and snow are frozen water (solid) and that water can change between solid and liquid
  • Describe an iceberg as a huge piece of ice floating in the ocean with most of it hidden below the surface
  • State that ice floats because frozen water is lighter than liquid water

The lesson

Water is not just one thing. It can be a liquid, like rain. It can also turn solid. You have seen solid water before. It is called ice.

Have you ever caught a snowflake? Snow falls from cold clouds. Each snowflake is a tiny ice crystal. Millions of them make a snowy day.

Try it together

Ana looks at an iceberg in the ocean. She sees a huge white chunk of ice. Only a small tip pokes above the water. Most of the iceberg hides underneath, out of sight.

Tip abovewater1Ice hiddenbelow9
Only a tiny tip of an iceberg shows above the water. The big part hides underneath.
Good to know

Ice floats because it is lighter than water. Frozen water takes up more space than liquid water. That makes ice float instead of sink. Next time you see ice in a drink, watch it float.

Ice and snow are frozen water, and ice floats because it is lighter than liquid water.

Watch it

Where it sits

Where this leads

Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.

Ice & Snow · Science, ages 5 to 7 · LightMySky