The Melting Snow Experiment

THE MELTING SNOW EXPERIMENT
(includes the 7 parts of a science fair project)

PART ONE
QUESTION: What kind of salt melts snow faster:

1. Pet Friendly Ice Melt


2. Kosher Salt


3. Morton Table Salt


4. Morton Fast Acting Ice Melt


5. Morton Solar Salt


PART TWO
RESEARCH
Pet Friendly Ice Melt and Morton Fast Acting Ice Melt are the only items actually used by consumers to melt snow. Kosher salt and table salt are for cooking and eating. Solar Salt is for water softening of your drinking water or your pool water. Below are the prices for each type of salt. Morton Fast Acting Ice Melt is the cheapest alternative.
1. Pet Friendly Ice Melt - $9.93 for 20 lbs.
2. Kosher Salt - $2.99 for 3 lbs.
3. Morton Table Salt - $1.48 for 26 oz.
4. Morton Fast Acting Ice Melt - $8.97 for 40 lbs.
5. Morton Solar Salt - $15.61 for 40 lbs.

PART THREE
HYPOTHESIS
I think _______________ will melt the snow the fastest, because ..... Most students chose the Morton Fast Acting Ice Melt as the salt that would melt the snow the fastest. Below is one class's signature chart before we went out to do the experiment.


PART FOUR
MATERIALS
Pet-Friendly Ice Melt, Kosher Salt, Morton Table Salt, Morton Fast Acting Salt, and Morton Solar Salt. Small garden shovels, measuring cups, tablespoons, and SNOW!

PART FIVE
PROCEDURE
1. Measure five equal cups of snow and place them side by side. Be sure they are all the same size, shape, and height.
2. Evenly distribute 3 tablespoons of a different type of salt on each pile of snow.
3. Observe to see which pile of snow melts the fastest.



PART SIX
RESULTS

PART SEVEN
CONCLUSION
The Pet Friendly Ice Melt will melt the snow the fastest in most cases, but the Morton Fast-Acting Ice Melt will melt the snow quickly, too. If I did not have a large area to do and I had pets that would be using that area, I would definitely buy the Pet Friendly Ice Melt. However, if I did not have pets, I would probably buy the Morton Fast Acting Ice Melt. The cost for the Pet Friendly is more than twice that of the Fast Acting and if I had a large area to do and no pets to worry about, I would not want to waste my money for such a small difference in results.