When ice melts, it turns into water. Does the volume of this water equal the volume of the ice?

No, the volume of the water is slightly less than the volume of the ice it came from. That's why ice floats!

Explanation:

Molecular Structure of Ice:

Ice has a crystalline structure where water molecules form a hexagonal arrangement.

This arrangement traps a lot of empty spaces between molecules, making ice less dense than liquid water.

That’s why ice floats on water.

Density Difference:

Density = Mass ÷ Volume.

The mass of water and ice remains the same when ice melts (since no molecules are lost).

But because liquid water molecules are packed more closely than in ice, the same mass occupies less volume in liquid state.

Practical Example:

• 1 gram of ice has a volume of about 1.09 cm³.
• When it melts, it becomes 1 gram of liquid water, which has a volume of 1.00 cm³.

So, the liquid water takes less space than the ice did.