Fvc! Task 3

Integrated Natural Science Applications Task 3

Which Shape of Ice Will Get Your Drink Colder, Quicker?

Project Design Plan

Ice is often used to chill beverages of all sorts. Crushed and cubed are common shapes of ice used to cool beverages.

Problem statement: Many times, an individual has a beverage they want to drink but its temperature it is too warm for their liking. In order to cool the beverage quickly and without the use of refrigeration, ice is often dispensed in the drink to quickly lower its temperature. Some people prefer crushed ice in their beverage while others opt for cubed. The particular question at hand is whether it is cubed or crushed ice that will cool a room temperature glass of water the fastest. With warmer weather on the way, it is necessary to identify which shape of ice works best to lower the temperature of a glass of water in the least amount of time.

Literature Review

The question of which shape of ice melts fastest has been answered through numerous experiments. The information provided by prior studies and this experiment can help businesses determine what type of ice machines they would like to purchase. It is also necessary for bartenders to know which kind of ice will dilute a drink more quickly in order to provide a tastier beverage. The information these studies provided helped us to develop the hypothesis of this experiment.

Previous studies have found that crushed ice melts more quickly than an equal volume of solid ice cubes. The explanation for that is once ice is dropped into water, energy is transferred from the water to the ice, warming the ice, which cools the surrounding water. This energy transfer is why ice is utilized to chill beverages; ice decreases the energy of the surrounding fluid which makes it colder (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2007).

The flow of energy takes place wherever water touches ice. Therefore, a larger amount of surface area means there is more ice...