Let it go

We are melting two different types of snow (compact and noncompact) to see how long
it will take to melt and which is faster.

Abstract: Our test is to melt snow, and comparing the density of the snow. There were
two types of snow: non-compacted snow and compacted snow. We got the snow from
the same place, used the same pot, same amount of snow, and the same temperature
to melt it. Once we finished the test we came to find out our hypothesis was somewhat
correct and somewhat incorrect. The compacted snow melted faster when we thought it
would melt slower, but it did make more water and thats what we thought it would do.

Introduction:
Our inspiration comes from class learning. We decided to do this because we wanted to
do something with snow. We got to thinking about what we could do, we came up with
an idea to do something with snow caves but another group already started that. So
then we got to thinking about how different densities affect how much water we get.
Then we decided to make it more experimental and did, time it takes to melt. Our
question ended up being how does the different densities of snow affect melting time
and if it is faster to melt a little compact snow or lot of loose snow. We are trying to
figure out if compacted snow melts faster or slower than non compacted snow. We took
a hot plate and small cooking pot and melted the snow (you can also use another
heating source).

Our question:
How does the density of snow affect melting time?
Purpose: If you are in serious need of water, which method provides a faster melting
time?

Hypothesis:
The un-compressed snow will melt faster, while the compressed snow will melt much
slower because the heat of going through the un-compressed snow will make it melt
faster. The compressed snow will also make more water when compared to the un-
compressed.

Methods:
We got a pot and filled it full of snow. We measured how much snow was in the pot, and
found that there were 3 inches of snow. Then we got a stopwatch and the hot plate. We
turned the hot plate to 400 degrees celsius (752F), we put the pot of snow on the hot
plate, then started the stopwatch. While that was melting we got the PVC pipe (7cm tall)
and filled it with snow, we measured the mass of the snow, then we measured the
height of the PVC pipe and the radius. Once we found the volume of the PVC pipe, we
then found the density (density=mass/volume) of snow. We recorded how long it took to
melt the first pot of snow. After that initial test, we compressed the same amount of
snow and found the density and time it would take to melt the snow.

Materials:
1. Pot
2. Hot plate
3. Snow
4. Ruler
5. Paper
6. Pen
7. Stop watch
8. Camera (optional)
9. PVC pipe

Results:
Non-compacted snow:
3 Inches of snow melted at 400 (752F)
Time it took to melt the snow: 14 minutes, 50 seconds
Density of the snow: 0.111
How much water from melting the snow is in the pot. (calculated by knowing the density
and how much snow there is): 1.33

Compacted snow:
3 inches of snow melted at 400C (752F)
Time it took to melt the snow: 12 min. 51 Secs.
Density of the snow: 0.336
How much water from melting the snow is in the pot. (calculated by knowing the density
and how much snow there is): 4.03

Discussion: We got these results by melting and measuring the snow in a PVC pipe
and in a cooking pot; while timing how long it would take to melt the snow. To make this
a more meaningful result, we could do an experiment to where someone goes out into
the wild with a pan and means of heating said pan up (dry wood, lighter, etc.). This
would make it feel much more vital to the persons survival than just melting some snow
in the commons on a hot plate. There are other ways to melt snow instead of using a
hot plate. We can use a fire and a pan, or Have boiling water in a pan and add snow to
it. We feel pretty confident with our results. We did make a mistake at first because for
the non compacted snow we used 3 inches of snow and for the compacted snow we
used 6 inches of snow, so our results were off because it wasnt the same amount of
snow.

Bibliography: We did not use any external resources during this process.

Conclusion:
If ever in a survival situation in a winter wonderland, there's a fire and a pot. If decided
in the situation you may want to make water, here's the real safety tip: compact the
snow! Because you will get more water, and it's a shorter time to melt the snow.
Because the snow particles are compacted together, the heat is trapped at the bottom
so it melts faster. If the snow is not compacted then the heat escapes from the bottom
and it melts slower.