The Effects of Sugar and Salt in the

Freezing Point of Water

I: Problem
Which liquid will freeze faster, water with
sugar, water with salt, or plain water?

II: Hypothesis
If we try to freeze water with salt, then it
will freeze faster than water with sugar or
water alone.

III: Materials
Clear disposable 16oz cups
with sugar and salt

Measuring cup

III: Materials
Table clock

Monitoring Sheet


III:
Procedures
1. Fill in each plastic cups with 16oz of
distilled water and label, A, B, C.
Cup A is water alone, Cup B is water
with salt and Cup C is water with
sugar.


III:
Procedures

2. Add 5 tablespoons of salt in Cup A, 5

table spoons of sugar in Cup C.

III: Procedures
3. Set the freezer to maximum/high settings.

III: Procedures
4. Monitor and observe the state of the
liquid every fifteen minutes interval for a
maximum of three hours.

III: Procedures
5. Record the results for each solution
using the monitoring sheet

CMR Table
Constant
Amount of water
Amount of salt and
sugar
Temperature of
freezer
Size of cup
Kind of water

Manipulated
Responding
Presence of salt and Freezing rate
sugar

V: Data and Results

Average Score in Percent (%) Using Freezing Scale
Time
15mins
30mins
1hr
1.5hr
2hrs
2.5hrs
3hrs

Sugar
Sugar
Salt 10
5Table
Salt 5 table
10table
Table
Water
spoon
Spoon
spoon
spoon
0% Freezing 0% Freezing 0% Freezing 0% Freezing 0% Freezing
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
35%
20%
30%
Freezing
Freezing 1% Freezing Freezing 0% Freezing
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
70%
50%
30%
65%
20%
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
90%
60%
40%
75%
30%
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
100%
80%
40%
81%
30%
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
100%
80%
70%
90%
60%
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Activity
Activity
Activity
Acitivity
Activity
100%
90%
80%
100%
80%
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Freezing
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity

V: Data and Results

Table shows the comparison of 5
tablespoon of sugar and 5 tablespoon of
salt. Sugar was almost frozen at the end
of three hours at 90% while salt is only
80%. Water freezes fastest achieving its
frozen state of 100% after 2 hours.

V: Data and Results

A clear observation was made in 10
tablespoon of sugar and 10 tablespoon of
salt. The freezing activity of sugar was
faster and is almost comparable to water.
At the end of three hours, water and sugar
have the same freezing state, hard and
solid at 100%. In reverse, 10 tablespoon of
salt has significantly decreased its
freezing activity. Salt solution exhibits
only an 80% freezing activity. Higher
concentration of salt in water lowered the
freezing activity.

VI: Conclusion
We therefore conclude that water with salt
does not freeze faster than water with
sugar or water alone and consequently
water with sugar freezes faster than water
with salt. Water will normally freeze at 0 C.
However, salt water does not freeze at 0
C, as the presence of salt lowers its
freezing temperature to below 0 C.

V: Recommendation
We recommend further observation of
freezing activity using other variables
such as temperature, different type of
solvent such as coffee and alcohol to
further validate the conclusion. Further, it
can also be recommended to compare
sugar and salt on the boiling point of
water.