Melt Down

Purpose - To determine the effect that color has on theamount of light that an object absorbs.

Materials - 2 ice cubes of equal size

2 plasticsandwich bags that zip closed

2 sheetsof construction paper, one black and one white timer

3 Melt Down

Procedure

■ Place one icecube in each of the plastic bags. Close the bags.

■ Lay the bagson a table outside and in a sunny area.

■ Cover each bagwith one of the pieces of paper.

■ Lift thepieces of paper every 5 minutes for 30 minutes and observe the ice cube in eachbag.

Results The ice covered by the black paper meltedfaster.

Why? Light is aform of energy. Black objects absorb more light energy than do white objects so the temperatureunder the black sheet of paper is higher. The ice cube melted faster becausethe temperature was higher under the black paper.