Grade 6 Science Fair Project - "Road Salt - Is it the Fastest Way to Melt Icy Roads?"

The purpose of this science fair project is to explorethe freezer until the water has frozen to ice. You may
the effect of road salt placed on snowy and icy roads.have to leave the dishes in the freezer overnight.
The freezing point for water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.Setup Step #3:
At this temperature water freezes into ice. Road saltPlace each of the six dishes on the floor of your
is placed on snowy and icy roads because the saltkitchen.
causes the ice and snow to melt. The chemistryYou are now ready to begin the science experiment.
behind this reaction is that salt lowers the melting pointSCIENCE FAIR PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS:
or freezing point of water. The salt acts as foreignStep #1:
particles in the water to help the melting process.You are going to spread material onto each dish in the
In this science fair project you will simulate sidewalksfollowingmanner:
and roads in icy conditions. You will fill dishes with ice toDish #1: Do not spread any material across this dish.
represent the sidewalks and roads. You will placeLeave thisdish as plain ice only.
various materials across the ice cubes to see if andDish #2: Spread the 12 ounces of road salt evenly
how the ice cubes melt. The various materials include:across this dish.
road salt, fertilizer, calcium chloride, cat litter, and sand.Dish #3: Spread the 12 ounces of fertilizer evenly
Hypothesis:across this dish.
Road salt and the various other materials will causeDish #4: Spread the 12 ounces of calcium chloride
the ice to meltfaster than using nothing at all.evenly acrossthis dish.
Variables:Dish #5: Spread the 12 ounces of cat litter evenly
Type of material spread on iceacross this dish.
Materials Needed:Dish #6: Spread the 12 ounces of sand evenly across
- Six dishes that have dimensions of 9 x 13 inchesthis dish.
- Freezer available to use during the science fairStep #2:
projectUse your stopwatch to determine how long it takes
- Stopwatchfor eachmaterial to melt the ice. Record your
- Waterobservations. Did the road salt melt the ice the
- 12 ounces of road saltquickest? Rank the materials in order from the dish
- 12 ounces of fertilizerthat melted the fastest to the slowest. Do you think
- 12 ounces of calcium chloridethat road salt is most effective material to use on icy
- 12 ounces of cat litterroads? Why or why not?
- 12 ounces of sandStep #3:
- PaperYou may want to take pictures during the melting
- Pencilprocess.
- CameraPictures will help you document your observations as
SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT SETUP INSTRUCTIONS:well as validate your results and conclusions.
Complete the following steps for this science fairSummary of Results:
project:The materials that were spread across each dish
Setup Step #1:cause the freezing point to lower. This in effect
Pour water into each of the six dishes. Make sure thatcaused the ice to melt. Road salt isused on icy roads
the water level in each dish is 1 inch.because it is the most effective and also the safest
Setup Step #2:for the environment.
Place the six dishes in the freezer. Leave the dishes in