Why does sea water freeze at a different temperature than fresh water?

Answer 1

salt water freezes slower than fresh water because the salt lowers the freezing point from 0 degress celsius to about -21 degress celsius. some other sources howerver say that the freezing point of salt water is -6 degrees celsius

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Answer 2

Salt lowers the freezing point. That's why they spread salt on snow covered roads, to melt the snow/ice. Saltwater has a much lower freezing point (the freezing point is the temperature where something freezes) than freshwater does. And the more salt there is in it, the lower the freezing point gets. So in order to know the exact temperature that it's going to freeze, you have to know just how salty it is. For saltwater that's as saturated as it can possibly get (i.e. there's no way to dissolve any more salt in it no matter how hard you tried), the freezing point is -21.1 degrees Celsius. This is when the saltwater is 23.3% salt (by weight).

Answer 3

Because it contains sodium chloride (common salt). Salt dissolves in water, but does not easily attach to ice. Since some of the water molecules are replaced by salt, the ice grabs less water molecules. This upsets the rate of freezing and melting water molecules. Melting is happening faster than freezing.

Answer 4

Sea water has a lower freezing point than fresh water because of the presence of salt. The salt lowers the freezing point of water by disrupting the formation of ice crystals. This means that sea water needs to be at a colder temperature than fresh water to freeze.

Answer 5

Colligative properties. Addition of a solute depresses freezing point.

Answer 6

because salt takes longer to freeze than anything in fresh water

Answer 7

Pure water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius.

Sea water is not pure water, it has various salts dissolved in it so it has a different freezing point

Answer 8

Yes, the freezing point is decreased.

Answer 9

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