The Scientific Method
By Claire Murden
Gather Information
When water freezes, the water molecules arrange themselves into special patterns. When there is sugar in the water, it is an impurity.
Make Connections
Because the sugar causes an impurity, the orange juice should take longer to freeze than the water.
Form a Hypothesis
If I put water and orange juice in the freezer, the water will freeze faster than the orange juice.
Design an Experiment
Step 1: Keep one cup of orange juice and one cup of water in the fridge overnight so that they maintain the same temperature as each other.
Step 2: Put the cup of orange juice and water in the freezer at the same time.
Step 3: Check to see whether orange juice or water freezes first.
Step 4: Repeat to verify information.
Test Your Hypothesis
After completing the experiment, all three times the water froze before the orange juice did.
Draw Conlusions
Water has a lower freezing point than orange juice does. This is because the sugar molecules are not the same shape and size as the water molecules, so they don't fit the ice crystals as well. The sugar molecules form an impurity, making it harder for the water molecules to form the certain pattern necessary for ice.