Does the shape of an ice cupe effect how quickly it melts?

Answer 1

Yes.

This is what physicists call "an energy transfer question."

There are two types of energy: Kinetic - the faster you are moving, the more kinetic energy (KE) you have, and Potential, which is a very broad category that represents stored energy. A battery has stored electro-chemical energy. A rock about to be dropped into a pond has stored gravitational energy that gets converted to kinetic energy as it falls.

Can you guess which category of energy HEAT falls into?

Hint: Heat is the random motion of atoms that make up a material.

If you guessed 'kinetic,' then you are right! When an ice cube melts, it is because heat is being transferred from the surroundings into the ice. How does the heat move into the ice? Here on Earth, the ice cube is being struck by moving air molecules. The air molecules move faster if the air is hotter. The air molecules hit the ice and transfer some of their heat energy, their kinetic energy, to the water molecules in the ice. It's very similar to the game of pool: when the cue ball strikes another ball, the other ball is set into motion and the cue ball slows down. Well, the fast moving air molecule strikes the slow moving water molecule in the ice and transfers energy to the ice. The result is that the ice molecule is moving a little faster and the air molecule moves a little slower; the ice warms up and the air cools down until they are both about the same temperature. Thus, the more ice that is in contact with the air, the faster it will melt.

Can you see how an ice cube that is shaped like a star will melt faster than an ice cube that is shaped like a cube? What about when an ice cube is made into a thin sheet?

If you want to try an experiment, remember to start with two equal amounts of water!