What is the difference between ice and water on the atomic level?

Question

What is the difference between ice and water on the atomic level?

Answer 1

the major difference is their amount of energy. Ice has less of it compared to water. Also, the bonds between ice molecules is a lot more rigid than that between water molecules

Answer 2

Imagine a marching band randomly moving around a parade ground.  This is water, in which water molecules move around in random motions.  But the band plays and lo and behold, it forms a perfect five-sided figure.  This is crystalline ice.  The band is no longer moving but stays in formation.  Water molecules in ice no longer move about.  They still have thermal energy which manifests itself by the molecules vibrating in place.

Answer 3

Usually in solids and liquids, the molecules in the solid form are very close together and compact so it remains solid and in the liquid form the molecules are farther apart but still remain together so the liquid can flow and has no definite shape which means it can be poured into containers. However water is a little different. Water contains hydrogen bonding due to each water molecule having an extremely electronegative oxygen atom attached to 2 hydrogen atoms. The slightly positively charged hydrogens are attracted to the slightly negatively charged oxygen atoms of other water molecules.This hydrogen bonding causes water when it freezes and turns into ice to be less dense than its liquid form. This is because when water freezes it arranges its molecules in a crystal-like lattice structure which puts its moleules even further apart from eachother than in liquid form. This is why ice floats on top of water because of all the empty spaces in the lattice structure, ice is less dense than water thus it floats on top of it.