Melting wax takes up the shape of the container. Image credit about.com
ZIMSEC O Level Combined Science Notes: An experiment to show that solids change shape when they melt
Materials: tin lid/evapouration dish, burner, burner stand, candle wax
Method
- place a lump of candle wax on a tin lid/evaporation dish on the burner stand
- heat the candle wax until it melts
- Allow the candle wax to cool
Observations and results
- when the experiment begins the wax as an irregular shape
- as it turns into a liquid during the heating process it assumes the shape of the evaporation dish
- when it cools it retains the shape of the dish
Conclusion
- liquids take up more volume that solids
- liquids take up the shape of their container
- solids take up less volume than liquids
- solids have a fixed shape and they retain their shape
To access more topics go to the Combined Science Notes page.
