{"id":220,"date":"2016-01-28T14:48:12","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T14:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon-research.com\/wp-test\/?page_id=220"},"modified":"2025-10-29T16:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:14:49","slug":"student-experience-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.horizon-research.com\/ASSET\/matter\/driving-questions\/melting-ice-cube\/student-experience-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Experience 1: Imagining Phase Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"melt-25202_640\"<\/a>Print<\/a>\n

Purpose<\/h3>\n

To help the teacher and students become aware of students\u2019 initial thinking about how matter changes when it changes phase.<\/p>\n

Description<\/h3>\n

As students watch, put an ice cube in an airtight\u00a0container (for example, Tupperware) and put the lid on. Tell students the container\u00a0will stay where it is in the classroom all day. Ask them to imagine that they have super strong glasses<\/a> that are more powerful than the strongest microscope. Tell them to draw what they would see inside the container\u00a0when the water is a solid (ice), a liquid, and vapor using this task sheet<\/a>. \u00a0[Task instructions for pilot teachers.<\/a>]\n

\"ice<\/a><\/p>\n

Questions to Ask Students<\/h3>\n

Describe what’s in your drawings. What does each part represent?<\/p>\n

Student Thinking<\/h3>\n

Some students\u2019 drawings will represent water as continuous (that is, they will not draw water particles), even in the vapor phase (Benson, Wittrock, & Baur, 1993; Nakhleh & Samarapungavan, 1999; Renstr\u00f6m, Andersson, & Marton, 1990; S\u00e9r\u00e9, 1986)<\/a>. If students draw particles, look for:<\/p>\n