How much ice must you drink to meet daily survival requirements?
How much glacial ice must be melted to supply daily water needs for one person??

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Hook
Have you ever carried a bucket of water from a stream to your garden? Have you ever filled a big pot with water and carried it to the stove? Have you ever carried a gallon jug of water home from the store? What did you notice about carrying water? You bet. It's heavy. Think about how much water you should drink in one day, at least 8 full glasses. How much would you need for 100 days. Wow. If you're skiing across Antarctica (2,400 miles), would you want to carry that much water on your sled? Could you? Remember you have to carry everything you will need to survive with you. Where are you going to get your drinking water, that water you must have to survive?

Materials
Thermometer(s), scale(s), microscope(s) or slides of ice crystals to view, clear plastic containers - small (i.e. medicine cups), access to a cold room or outside cold temperatures in winter, or a freezer, water, map of Antarctica.

Procedure
Lab Sheet

Team Name___________________________________________

Ice

Hypothesis Water will change to a frozen state called ice if it is put in temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius for a length of time.

Procedure Take a medicine cup (or other small plastic container) and fill to within one quarter inch of the top with water from a pond (stream, river, fresh water lake.) Weigh the container and the water. Note the weight in your journal. Carefully place the filled container into the freezer. Remove after one half hour, two hours, and the next day. Each time the container is removed, complete the "observation" sections.

Observations (Observations should include measuring the level of the water or ice from the top of the container (remember it started 1/4 inch from the top), and looking at a section under a microscope (or viewing an already prepared slide of ice crystals)in addition to listing the other properties such as feeling, tasting, and looking.)

One half hour: Write in the following predictions:

temperature ________________

color ________________

distance from the rim ________________

weight _____________

texture _____________

microscopic view



Take the sample out of the freezer and making the following observations. Indicate which observations came as a surprise by placing a * before front it.

temperature ________________

color ________________

distance from the rim ________________

weight _____________

texture _____________

microscopic view

Two hours: Write in the following predictions:

temperature ________________

color ________________

distance from the rim ________________

weight _____________

texture _____________

microscopic view



Take the sample out of the freezer and making the following observations. Indicate which observations came as a surprise by placing a * before front it.

temperature ________________

color ________________

distance from the rim ________________

weight _____________

texture _____________

microscopic view

The next day: Write in the following predictions:

temperature ________________

color ________________

distance from the rim ________________

weight _____________

texture _____________

microscopic view



Take the sample out of the freezer and making the following observations. Indicate which observations came as a surprise by placing a * before front it.

temperature ________________

color ________________

distance from the rim ________________

weight _____________

texture _____________

microscopic view

Conclusion Write your conclusions in your journal. The conclusion should quantify the changes between water and ice and the agreed upon properties of fresh water ice.


Now that you have had an experience with the investigative model and some of the scientific vocabulary in inquiry science, write your own hypothesis conjecturing how much ice you think it will take to create one cup(8oz.) of drinking water for Bancroft and Arnesen on the glacier. (Reflect on the observation that as the water froze, it expanded. Look at your data to see how much it expanded so you can support a reasonable hypothesis.)

Extensions: How many cups of water do Ann and Liv need daily? How much ice do they need to melt to meet those requirements? Which form of ice melts faster, a solid chunk or shards?

Using the lab sheet below, use ice chunks or crushed ice.
Melt the ice at room temperature.
Measure the ice to be melted by weighing it.

Lab Sheet

Team Name____________

Ice to Water

Hypothesis (It will take ___________ounces/pounds of ice chunks or crushed ice to create an eight ounce glass of water.)
______________________________________________________________________

Procedure Weigh the ice chunks or crushed ice, depending upon the group you are in. Melt this amount. If it is not enough, melt more. Be sure to measure ahead of time and add that amount to the first effort. If it is too much, try again using less.

Observations Write what happened step by step.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Conclusion How much ice will Bancroft and Armesen need to melt to get one cup of water? eight cups for the entire day of minimum drinking water? Is it more efficient to use chunk ice or crushed ice? Write your conclusions in your journal.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Discussions Questions/Extensions ......
How is water like ice? How is it different? If you were crossing Antarctica, how would you prepare for the need to take in the eight glasses of water recommended as a daily minimum? How might this need impact a trans-Antarctic trek? How might these considerations impact a long ttrek across Antarctica?

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