Which one melts first?

Two ice cubes. One in the sun, one in the shade. Which wins?

ScienceAges 4–520 minutes3 pagesEnglish textInk-light

Being written

This one is planned but not finished yet. Everything below is what it will contain.

Not drawn yet

I can change one thing and keep everything else the same.

How the fifteen minutes go

The five steps on this sheet, in the order a child meets them. This is what you will actually be doing, not a description of the method.

Print the one that fits today. Same skill, three depths — and on this sheet they differ like this.

Support

Just watch one cube melt and draw it three times.

Fewer items, more pictures, hints included, parent reads the instructions.

Core

Two cubes, sun against shade.

The standard task, recognition, practice and explanation.

Challenge

Add a third, wrapped in a cloth, and predict all three.

Open-ended. Explain why, make your own example, use it somewhere new.

The same guide that is printed on the back page, so you can read it before you decide to print anything.

The answers

The sunny one melts first. The deeper answer is why two cubes were needed: without a comparison there is nothing to conclude.

If they get stuck

Make it more extreme: fridge against a warm windowsill.

Common mistakes

Using different-sized cubes, which ruins the test. Worth pointing out, it is the actual science.
Peeking constantly and moving them. Set a timer instead.

When they finish early

Ask what else could make ice melt faster, then test that.