Water and Ice Exploration

Kindergarten · Science · Study Guide

Learn how water changes between liquid, solid ice, and water vapor.

Water is amazing because it can change its form! Water can be a liquid, a solid, or a gas.

Liquid water is what you drink and splash in. It flows and takes the shape of whatever container it is in. Rain, rivers, and oceans are all liquid water.

When water gets very cold — below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius — it freezes and turns into ice. Ice is solid water. It has a definite shape and is hard to the touch. Snowflakes, icicles, and ice cubes are all forms of ice.

When ice warms up, it melts back into liquid water. You can see this when an ice cube left out of the freezer turns into a puddle.

When water gets very hot, it evaporates and turns into water vapor, which is a gas you cannot see. Steam rising from hot soup is water turning into gas.

Water vapor in the air can cool down and come back together to form clouds. When clouds get heavy with water, it rains or snows.

This journey from liquid to ice to vapor and back again is called the water cycle. Water on Earth keeps going through this cycle over and over!

Key terms

liquid: Water in its flowing form — like rain, rivers, and what you drink
solid: Water in its hard, frozen form — ice or snow
freeze: When liquid water gets very cold and turns into ice
melt: When ice warms up and turns back into liquid water
evaporate: When liquid water heats up and turns into water vapor gas

Flashcards

Liquid: Water that flows and takes the shape of its container
Solid: Water that is frozen into ice — hard and has its own shape
Gas: Water vapor — water that has evaporated and you cannot see
Freeze: When water turns into ice because it is very cold
Melt: When ice turns back into water because it warmed up
Evaporate: When water turns into vapor because of heat
Ice: Frozen water; solid form of water
Water cycle: The way water changes from liquid to vapor to clouds and back to rain

Questions

What happens to water when it gets very cold?
1. It evaporates
2. It turns into ice
3. It disappears
4. It becomes a cloud
Show answer
Answer: It turns into ice
When water gets cold enough (below freezing), it turns into solid ice.
Ice is solid water.
Show answer
Answer: True
Ice is the solid form of water — it is frozen liquid water.
What happens when ice warms up?
1. It gets harder
2. It freezes again
3. It melts into liquid water
4. It turns into a cloud
Show answer
Answer: It melts into liquid water
When ice warms up above freezing, it melts and becomes liquid water again.
When water heats up and turns into gas, it ______.
Show answer
Answer: evaporates
Evaporation is when liquid water heats up and turns into water vapor gas.
Rain is liquid water.
Show answer
Answer: True
Rain is liquid water that falls from clouds in the sky.

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