Why does ice float on water?

Question

ice and water are same same is h2o. but y ice can float on water? help!!

Answer 1

Because when ice freezes, it expands. Since the mass stays the same but its volume increases, its density is decreased. Ice floats on water because it's less dense. Same reason why oil floats on top of water -- oil is less dense than water.

Answer 2

because of all the small  molecule's  and Lil air pockets in the ice which makes it less dens

Answer 3

ice is a solid n water is a liquid plus ice has a bigger surface area which allows the water to push up against the ice therefore the ice floats.

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Answer 4

becasue ice has a lower density than water.

Answer 5

beacuse it is less dense then water

Answer 6

there are a bunch of bacteria in your ice treading water

Answer 7

liquid is the denseist statee of waterrrrr so when its frozen it floats!

wahlahh!! hahaha earthsciencee ewwww

Answer 8

WATER EXPANDS BY 10% WHEN IT FREEZES INTO ICE MAKING IT LIGHTER THAN WATER AND THEREFORE ABLE TO FLOAT.

Answer 9

Water molecules are not arranged in an orderly manner and are tightly squeezed together. Whereas, ice has a diamond structure due to hydrogen bonding. So, it have spaces inbetween.

Therefore, ice has more space then water. So, ice is lighter then water.

Answer 10

When water freezes it expands and the volume of the water mass will increase by 8% which will result in a decline in the density of the water, which results in the ice being able to float on the water as it is less dense.

Answer 11

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/ice1h.html

http://www.bluedevilchem.com/info/water....

http://www.raft.net/ideas/Water%20in%20a...

check out those link it is the answer!

Answer 12

because it is less dense

Answer 13

heavyier

Answer 14

becuase as ice freezes it become less dense than water (the molecules expand)...

also why water expands when it turns to ice...

Answer 15

All materials change density when they go from the liquid to the solid state. For most materials, freezing results in an increase in density, so that the solid sinks in the liquid. This is because freezing involves crystallization, and in most materials the orderly arrangement of the molecules in a crystalline solid means nice, tight packing and thus an increase in density over the more chaotic liquid.

But the water molecule has a q***r shape that makes it impossible to pack efficiently in a crystal structure. Ice is a rather loose (though orderly) packing and the density is less than that of liquid water. Thus ice floats on water.

It's a good thing it does. Otherwise, lakes would freeze solid in winter and fish would have a very "hard" time.

There are a few other such "icelike" materials. The best known are the metals bismuth and antimony. They are used in precision casting, since the expansion on freezing forces the material into the tiniest nooks and crannies and corners of the mold.

Answer 16

as water cools, the molecules get closer together, but when they  hit 4 degrees Celsius they start to move apart again.  by the time it is ice (0 degrees) its molecules are so far apart that it is less dense than liquid water, causing the ice to float.

Answer 17

An unusual property of ice frozen at a pressure of one atmosphere is that the solid is some 8% less dense than liquid water. Water is the only known non-metallic substance to expand when it freezes. Ice has a density of 0.9167 g/cm³ at 0 °C, whereas water has a density of 0.9998 g/cm³ at the same temperature. Liquid water is most dense, essentially 1.00 g/cm³, at 4 °C and becomes less dense as the water molecules begin to form the hexagonal crystals of ice as the temperature drops to 0 °C. (In fact, the word "crystal" derives from Greek word for frost.) This is due to hydrogen bonds forming between the water molecules, which line up molecules less efficiently (in terms of volume) when water is frozen. The result of this is that ice floats on liquid water.

Answer 18

water has a density one 1

anything with a density less than one such as ice will float on water

Answer 19

Ice is less dense because the H20 molecules are in a crystal structure, and thus, spread further apart than in the liquid state.

Answer 20

As water approaches its freezing point of 32 degrees F, it expands in volume (size) but its mass (weight) remains the same. At 32 degrees F, water stops expanding and becomes ice.

The same volume of ice weighs less than the volume of water that it replaces. So ice will float on water because it "weighs" less than water.

Answer 21

Water molecules are polarized due to the uneven distribution of the electron charge of the orbiting electrons.  When water freezes, the water molecules form chains and crystals that use up space less efficiently than non-polarized ball bearings (or unaligned liquid water molecules).