Materials
- Fresh strawberry
- Freezer
- Clear bowl or glass
- Bottle of purified water (not distilled, not mineral)
Instructions
- Place a fresh strawberry in the freezer and freeze it completely (at least a few hours).
- Place an unopened bottle of purified water flat in the freezer. Leave it in the freezer for about 2 hours. The water should be very cold but still liquid.
- Pour the cold purified water into a clear glass or bowl.
- Remove the frozen strawberry from the freezer.
- Gently place the frozen strawberry into the cold water.
- Observe what happens on the surface of the strawberry.
- A thin layer of ice rapidly forms around the strawberry, growing outward from its surface.
What’s going on?
- Very cold purified water can exist close to its freezing point without turning into ice. This unstable state allows the water to remain liquid until freezing is triggered.
- When the frozen strawberry is placed into the cold water, its very low temperature and rough surface provide a nucleation site. Water molecules touching the strawberry rapidly arrange into solid ice. Once freezing begins, more water freezes onto the forming ice layer, causing ice to spread outward from the strawberry.
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