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Freezing and melting

Solids, liquids and gases change state when they are heated or cooled.

Watch: The temperatures for freezing and melting

Find out about these reversible processes.

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Heating up a solid

 Square character looking at a glass of ice.
Image caption,
As the ice heats up, it melts and turns into water.

When some solids are heated, they melt and turns into a liquid. For example, wax and ice melt when they are heated. The temperature this happens at is called the melting point, and it is measured in degrees Celsius (°C).

The melting point of ice (solid water) is 0 degrees Celsius (0°C). Different materials have different melting points. Chocolate melts at around 35°C.

 Square character looking at a glass of ice.
Image caption,
As the ice heats up, it melts and turns into water.
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Cooling down a liquid

Image caption,
The temperature is below 0°C in freezers so that they can make ice.

When a liquid is cooled, it freezes and turns into a solid. For example, water freezes into ice in puddles on a very cold day. Freezing happens at the same temperature as the melting point.

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Watch: Evaporation and condensation

Watch and learn about turning liquids to gasses... and turning them back again!

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Heating up a liquid

Image caption,
We can boil water in a pan to cook food.

When a liquid is heated it boils and turns into a gas. For example, if water is heated in a pan or in a kettle, it boils and turns into steam.

The temperature this happens at is called the boiling point. The boiling point of water is 100°C. The boiling point of ethanol (alcohol) is 78°C.

If you heat water slowly at a lower temperature than boiling point, then the water on the surface will evaporate. For example the Sun may heat up water in a puddle and it will slowly evaporate. The puddle may evaporate quicker on a very hot day, if it was windy or the water was spread out thinly across the surface.

Image caption,
We can boil water in a pan to cook food.
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Cooling down a gas

When a gas is cooled, it condenses, and changes into a liquid. For example, the steam from a boiling pan turns into condensation on a cold window in the kitchen.

Condensing happens at the same temperature as the boiling point.

Watch: Evaporation and condensation recap

Learn about evaporation and condensation.

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Activity 1: Changing states

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Activity 2: Changing states quiz

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Activity 3: Investigating changing states

How many examples changing of states can you think of?

FromToHow
Ice creamsolidliquidmelting

Try to think of at least 5 more. Record your results in a table like the one above.

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More on States of matter

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