Science Project Planning

[deleted-71447]

HI Jonathan,
Here are detailed instructions for testing a thermometer in ice water
http://www.globe.gov/tctg/soil_fg_therm ... tionId=568

According to the sales info you provided, these thermometers are calibrated at -35 degrees C and should be OK for measuring a temperature at -15C. In fact, many manufacturers recommend frozen food storage at -15 to -20 C.

[Jonathan]

Hello!

Good News - we followed the instructions. We tested the thermometer in a bath of ice water. The readings were all between -5 degrees Celsius and +5 Degree Celsius.

I think I'm ready to conduct my 1st trial of the experiment.

JONATHAN

[Louise]

Hello!

Good News - we followed the instructions. We tested the thermometer in a bath of ice water. The readings were all between -5 degrees Celsius and +5 Degree Celsius.

I think I'm ready to conduct my 1st trial of the experiment.

JONATHAN

Great! So this tells you about the error of your experiment. Two samples could be 10 degrees apart by thermometer, and still be reading the same temperature. [Note: I hope your measurement shows MUCH smaller error- I would expect the range to be much smaller, like -1 to 1 degree. You didn't mean 0.5 did you?] This data you collected is important- this is part of your experiment. If you did not do it carefully, you should redo it, and record the data in your notebook.

If ther errors is really as large as 5 or 10 degrees you can (should!) even use a sticker and "name" each thermometer (therm1, therm2, etc.). Then you can record the value for each one. For example, therm1 may read +5 C and therm2 may read -1 C when they should both read 0 C. (to be very accurate, you should do this several times to make sure they always give the same result (or that you are always reading them the same)) Then, you know every measurement with therm1 is 5 degrees too high and can fix this. If you don't understand this, please ask your mom for help or post back here.

You are making excellent progress.

Louise

[Jonathan]

Hello.

I'm doing my experiment. After 35 minutes, I noticed the fresh water had tiny needles forming on top of the water. The temperature was 4 degrees celsius. Nothing happened with the salt water samples yet. I also noticed as the temperature was dropping it would then go back up a little. Are my thermometers working correctly? Why would this happen?

After 135 minutes, the fresh water froze. The temperature was 0 degrees celsius. The salt water looks like slush is forming.

I also have a thermometer in the freezer. The temperature is varying from -4 degrees to -9 degrees.

The data I'm collecting is like this:

Temperature of each Cup

Time No Salt Cup #1 1/2 oz Salt Cup #2 1 oz Salt Cup #3 1 1/2 oz Salt cup #4 Observation
0 min. 20 degrees 20 20 20 degrees
5 min. 13 degrees 15 15 15
10 min.
15 min.

Right now, I'm at 205 minutes. Cup # 2 looks like it's starting to freeze. Cups #3 and #4 are also starting to freeze but I can still see some liquid.

Am I doing this correctly. Please let me know.

JONATHAN

[Louise]

Hello.

I'm doing my experiment. After 35 minutes, I noticed the fresh water had tiny needles forming on top of the water. The temperature was 4 degrees celsius. Nothing happened with the salt water samples yet. I also noticed as the temperature was dropping it would then go back up a little. Are my thermometers working correctly? Why would this happen?

After 135 minutes, the fresh water froze. The temperature was 0 degrees celsius. The salt water looks like slush is forming.

I also have a thermometer in the freezer. The temperature is varying from -4 degrees to -9 degrees.

The data I'm collecting is like this:

Temperature of each Cup

Time No Salt Cup #1 1/2 oz Salt Cup #2 1 oz Salt Cup #3 1 1/2 oz Salt cup #4 Observation
0 min. 20 degrees 20 20 20 degrees
5 min. 13 degrees 15 15 15
10 min.
15 min.

Right now, I'm at 205 minutes. Cup # 2 looks like it's starting to freeze. Cups #3 and #4 are also starting to freeze but I can still see some liquid.

Am I doing this correctly. Please let me know.

JONATHAN

This sounds reasonable to me and your observations seem very good/detailed. I don't know how much your thermometer is going up and down, but it could be that when you have the door open to observe the thermometers the freezer warms up and then cools. If this were the case, the regular water/ the freezer thermometer should show this too. You should watch this carefully to check this, and also record the range (say 15-17 degrees). The other thing to consider is different parts of the freezer may cool differently, so if you do another run, you may want to rotate your cups so each one is in a different place from the first run. It may be one location will show these fluctuations more than the others.

Salt water also freezes differently than plain water. Basically, the water freezes as pure water and the remaing water gets saltier. So the slush is pure water crystals + extra salty water. This may also explain your temp variation. Pure freezes at 0, but the salt water can get much colder(like -15), so if you get more ice around the thermometer it would be warmer (0) than if you have more salty water (-15). So, I would expect to see a temp variation IF you had ice in the liquid. Not sure why you would see this above the freezing point, unless, as I said above, the freezer is cycling on and off.

Do these thoughts help?
Good luck!


Louise

[Jonathan]

Hi Louise.

Thank you for helping me. The temperature is only going up and down 1 to two degrees. I put the samples all on the same shelf in the freezer. I'm rotating them now. I think the back is colder.

Every 5 minutes, I check the samples and record the temperature and observations. I've been doing this since 11 am this morning. It's almost 10 pm and time for bed. The salt water samples have not all frozen yet.

I'm using a clear container so that I can see inside ( 28 ounces of water ) - The temperature is now at -9 degrees for all four samples. THIS IS WHAT I SEE:

Sample 1: Fresh Water. The frozen ice is shiny and clear. In the middle, I had seen a water bubble that moved before. Now it's not moving and all frozen.

Sample 2: 1/2 oz Salt / Water: Cloudy. Lots of ice needles. The slush is freezing. I put my finger thru the ice and made a hole. There's still liquid in the middle and is still not frozen. The top is frozen.

Sample 3: 1 oz Salt / Water: Cloudy. Lots of ice needles. The slush is freezing. I also put my finger thru it and there's liquid in the middle also.

Sample 4: 1 1/2 oz Salt / Water: Cloudy. Lots of needles. The slush is freezing but I still see some liquid water on top. I also put my finger thru and there's liquid in the middle.

This is taking a long time to freeze. I've recorded data every 5 minutes. I have 10 pages. I have to go to bed. My mom will continue recording for me. I hope it freezes soon. Please let me know what I should do.

JONATHAN

[Louise]

Hi Louise.

Thank you for helping me. The temperature is only going up and down 1 to two degrees. I put the samples all on the same shelf in the freezer. I'm rotating them now. I think the back is colder.

Every 5 minutes, I check the samples and record the temperature and observations. I've been doing this since 11 am this morning. It's almost 10 pm and time for bed. The salt water samples have not all frozen yet.

I'm using a clear container so that I can see inside ( 28 ounces of water ) - The temperature is now at -9 degrees for all four samples. THIS IS WHAT I SEE:

Sample 1: Fresh Water. The frozen ice is shiny and clear. In the middle, I had seen a water bubble that moved before. Now it's not moving and all frozen.

Sample 2: 1/2 oz Salt / Water: Cloudy. Lots of ice needles. The slush is freezing. I put my finger thru the ice and made a hole. There's still liquid in the middle and is still not frozen. The top is frozen.

Sample 3: 1 oz Salt / Water: Cloudy. Lots of ice needles. The slush is freezing. I also put my finger thru it and there's liquid in the middle also.

Sample 4: 1 1/2 oz Salt / Water: Cloudy. Lots of needles. The slush is freezing but I still see some liquid water on top. I also put my finger thru and there's liquid in the middle.

This is taking a long time to freeze. I've recorded data every 5 minutes. I have 10 pages. I have to go to bed. My mom will continue recording for me. I hope it freezes soon. Please let me know what I should do.

JONATHAN

It is possible that the salty water won't ever freeze- your freezer may not be cold enough. For tonight, maybe you want to increase the spacing between the measurements to half hour or hour long. This is why Phi-unit suggested- "I might suggest doing a pre-trial(time permitting) so you can work all the kinks in your procedure. However 3-5 trials is sufficient(more is better) but do what you can." If you do another test, use smaller containers/volumes of water so the observations don't take so long. (That is, next time, keep short intervals but use smaller volumes.)

In my freezer the back is colder, because that is where the cool air comes in, so your hypothesis is reasonable.

Louise

[Jonathan]

Hello.

Last night, the salt water samples never completely froze. I went to bed. This morning (after 18 hours) the samples seemed all frozen. It was cloudy looking and my dad showed me the clumps of salt. Temperature reading was -21 celsius for all 3 salt samples.

My dad said that I should tell you that we used 1 ounce of salt to 28 ounces of water which is the sea water level.

I'm testing again this morning using 6 ounces of water. I'm keeping the salt amounts the same (1/2 ounce, 1 ounce and 1 1/2 ounce). Is that okay?

Thank you.

JONATHAN

[Louise]

Hello.

Last night, the salt water samples never completely froze. I went to bed. This morning (after 18 hours) the samples seemed all frozen. It was cloudy looking and my dad showed me the clumps of salt. Temperature reading was -21 celsius for all 3 salt samples.

My dad said that I should tell you that we used 1 ounce of salt to 28 ounces of water which is the sea water level.

I'm testing again this morning using 6 ounces of water. I'm keeping the salt amounts the same (1/2 ounce, 1 ounce and 1 1/2 ounce). Is that okay?

Thank you.

JONATHAN

I would keep the % of salt the same, so you can compare directly with your other trial. So, if you are using 1/4 the amount of water, use 1/8 oz, 1/4 oz, etc.

What did the freezer thermometer read? I'm surprised the salt got to -21 if the freezer is only at -4 to -9 degrees.

Louise

[Louise]

Here is a link to a website that might help you. Maybe your parents can look at it with you. It is written at the college level, but all I want you to do is look at the picture (called binary phase diagram). This picture shows what happens at different temperatures and amounts of salt
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~kmuldrew/cryo_c ... ap6_1.html

Here are what the words in the picture mean-
brine = salt water
ice= pure water ice
NaCl*2H20= a salt crystal


Each box has a description of what the sample will look like. Supposed you had 6 oz of water (. For the salt, I'm not sure if you are using fluid oz (a measuring cup) or oz (a scale). I'm going to assume you used a scale. So, 0.25 oz of salt in 6 oz water is about 4% salt by mass. Looking at the picture, we see for 4%, we will start at 20 *C (close to room temperature). In your experiment, you just change the temperature, so we will draw a line straight down...The chart says you have brine/salt water until about -5 *c, when you start forming brine + ice (slush!). It stays slushy until -21 *c, when you form ice and salt crystals, and now everything is frozen! This sounds very similar to what you observed! You have an additional variable- time, which is not shown on this chart.

One other note- my earlier post gave an example of how to reduce the concentrations by 1/4. Changing from 28 to 6 is not 1/4 (it is like .21 not 0.25), but for illustrating, dividing by 4 is easy to do. So, have your folks help you do the math. If you used 7 oz, that would be 1/4, and you could use the values I said.


Louise

[Jonathan]

Hello.

My parents helped me understand your suggestions. I will re-try my experiment on Thursday using 6 ounces of fresh water and 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 ounces of salt. Please let me know if okay.

In my last trial, I observed the samples in the freezer every 5 minutes. I had alot of pages of data. My parents told me to ask you if it's okay to observe every 10 minutes. Also, should I have a time limit. In my last trial, the fresh water froze first, then the salt water sample with the least amount of salt. The other two salt samples with more salt never really froze. But I did not know when to stop.

Thank you.

JONATHAN

[Louise]

Hello.

My parents helped me understand your suggestions. I will re-try my experiment on Thursday using 6 ounces of fresh water and 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 ounces of salt. Please let me know if okay.

I think you want to use 7 oz of water, since your first trial used 28 oz, and you are dividing by 4.

In my last trial, I observed the samples in the freezer every 5 minutes. I had alot of pages of data. My parents told me to ask you if it's okay to observe every 10 minutes. Also, should I have a time limit. In my last trial, the fresh water froze first, then the salt water sample with the least amount of salt. The other two salt samples with more salt never really froze. But I did not know when to stop.

You should look at all the data you've collected. If you only looked every 10 minutes or every 20 minutes, would you still be able to tell what is going on? I see no problem lengthening the interval, but you should go through the data with your parents and see how long the gap can be.

In your last trial, you did 6 oz, but the same salt as the first one, right? (so 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz) More concentrated salt solutions may never freeze, so that is reasonable. This is shown in the picture I gave you the link to, but maybe it was too confusing for you?

In your first trial, all samples eventually froze, right? But it took 18 hours, or something long like that? For the plain water, how long did it take to freeze 28 oz vs. 7 oz?

I will check this forum again tonight, so please let me know the answers. I will write back- so don't start the experiment until I write you! We don't want you (or mom) checking the thermometer all night again!

Here are the questions again-
1) In your last trial, you did 6 oz, but the same salt as the first one, right? (so 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz)
2) In your first trial, all samples eventually froze, right? How long did it take?
3) For the plain water, how long did it take to freeze 28 oz vs. 6 oz?


Louise

[Louise]

Jonathan,
I am logging off- I will check for your reply tomorrow.

Louise

[Jonathan]

Hi, Louise.

I had a school play and just got home. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. My answers to your questions are:

1) In the last trial, I used 6 oz of water and salt amounts of: 1/2 oz, 1 oz. and 1 1/2 oz.
Fresh water froze after 160 minutes; temperature -5 celsius
1/2 oz. salt water froze after 245 minutes; temperature -13 celsius
1 oz. salt water froze after 260 minutes; temperature -12 celsius
1 1/2 oz. salt water never froze after 260 minutes remained slush; temperature -16 celsius

2) In the 1st trial, I used 28 oz. of water and same salt amounts of: 1/2 oz., 1 oz. and 1 1/2 oz.
Fresh water froze after 340 minutes; temperature 0 celsius
The salt water samples never really froze after 12 hours of testing. This is when I went to bed. In the morning (After 18 hours), it looked frozen. But when I touched it, I felt a little liquid on top of the frozen ice - does this make sense?

3) 6 oz. of fresh water froze at 160 minutes and 28 oz of fresh water froze after 340 minutes

If I continue to test with 6 oz. of water, I think I can check every 10 minutes. I saw the ice needles forming on top of the water approximately 15 to 20 minutes in the freezer. I just need to know if I can use 1/8 oz, 1/4 oz. and 1/2 oz. I will use the special measuring spoon for this and not the scale.

I will check back for your answers tomorrow.

Thank you.

JONATHAN

[Louise]

Hi, Louise.

I had a school play and just got home. I'm sorry I kept you waiting.

Don't worry about it, I did not want to keep you waiting!

The idea is that you want to keep all the variables as close to the first trial as possible (except for the total volume- which you reduced so the experiment is faster). So, you don't want to change how you measure salt (scale to measuring spoon) or the concentration of salt. Then, you can compare this new data with the first trial you did, and have two sets of data.

In the first trial your concentrations were:
.5 oz/28 oz, 1 oz/28 oz, and 1.5 oz /28 oz.

The same concentration in a smaller volume would be:
1/8 oz/7 oz, 1/4 oz/7 oz and 3/4 oz in 7 oz.

In 6 oz of water, the amount of salt is not a 'nice number' so I don't know if you can measure this. It would be
0.10714 oz
0.21429 oz
0.32143 oz

You can use either the 6 or 7 oz values, depending on what you prefer. But, if you divide 0.5/28, (1/8)/7, or 0.10714/6, you will get the same number- this is what I mean by concentration.

From your trials, you know that the saltiest cup never really freezes. So, once the second cup freezes, I would check at 10 minutes for maybe 3 times, and then go to longer intervals (like 30 minutes or 1 hour) for a few times. Then, leave it over night, and make sure it doesn't freeze. You just want to verify that it doesn't freeze, so you don't need to check it every 10 minutes.

I'm concerned in your last trial that the pure water froze at -5 C. This doesn't seem right. You know it should freeze at 0 C. So, maybe check the thermometer again (or use a new one) and make sure all your containers are very clean and there is no salt stuck to the container.

Does this make sense to you? Good luck.


Louise

[Jonathan]

Hello.

In the last trial, the fresh water froze at -5 degrees in temperature. I did use this thermometer before and could be an error with thermometer? I have to go back to school again for another play.
I will try doing the experiment tomorrow after school.

I will use 7 oz. of water and 1/8 oz, 1/4 oz and 3/4 oz of salt. I used the scale before to measure the salt but the amounts were 1/2 and one ounce. My scale is not digital. I hope my dad can help me figure out how to measure 1/8 oz. on the scale.

If you think of anything else, please let me know.

Jonathan

[Louise]

Hello.

In the last trial, the fresh water froze at -5 degrees in temperature. I did use this thermometer before and could be an error with thermometer? I have to go back to school again for another play.
I will try doing the experiment tomorrow after school.

I will use 7 oz. of water and 1/8 oz, 1/4 oz and 3/4 oz of salt. I used the scale before to measure the salt but the amounts were 1/2 and one ounce. My scale is not digital. I hope my dad can help me figure out how to measure 1/8 oz. on the scale.

If you think of anything else, please let me know.

Jonathan

I would check for an error with a thermometer. It seems very odd that it would be so low.

I understand what your problem is with the scale now. Thank you for clarifying. You could weigh out 1/2 oz, and dissolve it in 28 oz, and then only pour out 7 oz in to the container to freeze.

Have fun at the play!

Louise

[Jonathan]

Hello.

I'm working on my experiment. I'm testing with 7 ounces. For the salt samples, I took 7 ounces from the mixture of (1/2 oz, 1 oz. and 1 1/2 oz. of + 28 ounces of water) like you told me.

This is what I'm observing:

After 30 minutes: Fresh Water Froze on Top - 0 Degrees Celsius
After 40 minutes: 1/2 oz. salt water - some ice needles - 0 Degrees Celsius
After 50 minutes: 1 1/2 oz. salt water - some ice needles - 0 Degrees Celsius

Everything is happening quicker since I have so much less water. I will continue to look until the fresh water completely freezes. I want to be able to collect more data also.

Please let me know if you think of anything else that I should do. I will give you more information later tonight.

Thank you.
JONATHAN

[Jonathan]

Hello.

These are my results:

After 130 minutes, Fresh water froze - 0 degrees temperature
After 190 minutes, 1/2 oz. salt water slush semi-froze at -5 degrees temperature
After 190 minutes, 1 oz. salt water slush semi-froze at -7 degrees temperature
After 190 minutes, 1 1/2 oz salt water firm slush at -10 degrees temperature

I'm going to bed now. I think it will freeze by morning. Please let me know what you think. Then I will do another trial.

Thank you.
JONATHAN

[deleted-71447]

Well done, Jonathan. You're a devoted experimentalist.

[Jonathan]

Thank you.

This morning I looked at the samples again. I used a clear cup so that I can see the inside better.
The salt samples - are cloudy looking and bumpy looking. My mom describes the salt samples as frozen slush but with a liquid film on top. The one with the most salt has the most liquid on top.

After 18 hours, the salt samples froze also but with the liquid film on top at temperatures of -15, -18 and -20 degrees celsius. Should I include this data in my charts?

What type of chart should I use to plot my data - bar graph or line graph?

I will do my trials this weekend.

Thank you...Jonathan

[Louise]

Thank you.

This morning I looked at the samples again. I used a clear cup so that I can see the inside better.
The salt samples - are cloudy looking and bumpy looking. My mom describes the salt samples as frozen slush but with a liquid film on top. The one with the most salt has the most liquid on top.

After 18 hours, the salt samples froze also but with the liquid film on top at temperatures of -15, -18 and -20 degrees celsius. Should I include this data in my charts?

What type of chart should I use to plot my data - bar graph or line graph?

I will do my trials this weekend.

Thank you...Jonathan

This sounds great!

You can use a line graph for each sample to plot all of your time data, so people can see how the temperature dropped with time. (Only use the trials with the same amount of water, because the time gets faster with the smaller containers)

I think a bar graph would be best for the final temperatures. You can use the data for all trials with the same amount of salt, so you first trial (in 28 oz) and this last one, and the trial you are doing on the weekend.

Louise

[deleted-71447]

In addition to Louise's excellent suggestions, you could also make a scatter plot (a graph with points but not lines) of salt concentration on the x-axis versus the freezing temperature on the y-axis. With this type of graph, you could plot all your data from all your trials, using a different symbol for each trial. Here is an explanation of a scatterplot, in case that term is unfamiliar to you:
http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/courses/ci330m ... rinfo.html
Scatterplots are also mentioned here:
http://www.sciencebuddies.com/science-f ... ysis.shtml

[deleted-2131]

Another way that you may able to check if your freezer really is at 0 C would be to put a thermometer in the freezer and let it stay there for a while and then see what reading the thermometer gives you. This wouldn't give you information on the accuracy of the thermometer necessarily, but it would help you know if the reading you got in the cup with salt was reasonable compared to the temperature of your freezer given by the thermometer.

[Jonathan]

Hello.

I had a busy week in school before vacation. My teacher gave a test almost everyday and I had to study.

I'm happy to do another trial today. Yes - I do have two thermometer's in my freezer. They both read -19 degrees. So the readings I'm getting do seem reasonable. i asked about this before. My dad is a bit surprised that my home freezer is able to go to -19 degrees.

THANK YOU.
JONATHAN

[deleted-2131]

Jonathan,

Just because your thermometers read -19 degrees (is this Fahrenheit or Celsius?) doesn't nessecarily mean your freezer is actually at -19 degrees, because, as the other experts have discussed, your thermometers might not be well-calibrated. What it does mean is that now you have a rough idea of the sort of temperature readings your thermometers are giving so that you have an idea of the different temperatures relative to one another. Does this make sense?
If not, please let me know and I will try to explain better.

Good luck with your experiment today and have fun!

[Jonathan]

Hello.

I understand. The -19 degree temperature is celsius.

I'm still working on my experiment. I'm also starting to research water websites with my mom.

I will let you know how I did later on.

Thank you.
JONATHAN

[deleted-71447]

With two thermometers reading -19C, and both thermometers having been calibrated at -35C, it seems safe to report the measured value. This temperature is in the recommended range for long-term storage of frozen food, -15 to -20C. I can understand why your dad was surprised - I was also surprised when I first read the recommended temperature range - but when you think about the results of this experiment, it makes perfect sense.

Of course, different parts of the freezer will have different temperatures, and the temperature will change when the door opens and closes.

Keep up the good work!

[Louise]

Hello.

I understand. The -19 degree temperature is celsius.

I'm still working on my experiment. I'm also starting to research water websites with my mom.

I will let you know how I did later on.

Thank you.
JONATHAN

Good luck completing your project. I agree with Chris; I think you done a lot to make sure your readings are accurate and you can be confident in them (within the errors you found when you calibrated all thermometers). I also wanted to say that I liked Chris's idea of a scatter plot. I suggested a 'bar plot' which would be the average value for all trials. The scatter plot whould show all data and how each trial was different. Both would tell someone looking at your board something very important.

Louise

[Jonathan]

Hello.

My brother is helping me do the charts. The question i have is why does salt water freeze at a low temperature thats negative.

Thank you
Jonathan