Investigating the Thermal Expansion of Water

Background
Global warming is essential and real: without it we would not
exist. Short wavelength sunlight enters and is trapped inside the
Earth's atmosphere where it is converted to longer wavelength
heat, which cannot leave. This keeps the planet warm enough for
life. But human activities are seriously overwhelming the natural
global warming phenomenon, having profound impact on the
planet Earth and its inhabitants. Water expands when it is heated
and this can lead to raised sea levels and coastal destruction.

INVESTIGATION: Thermal expansion of water and its impact on the planet Earth

Objective
Observe and explain the thermal expansion of water - the effect of temperature increase on a volume
of water and, by implication, understand how this would lead to an increase in sea level - thermal
expansion.

Significance
If global temperatures increase, many scientists have indicated that an increase in sea level is one of the most
significant secondary effects. Two factors will contribute to this accelerated rise in sea level:
1. First, although the oceans have an enormous heat storage capacity, if global atmospheric temperatures
rise, the oceans will absorb heat and expand ("thermal expansion") leading to a rise in sea level.
2. Second, warmer temperatures will cause ice currently locked up in glaciers and snowfields on land to
melt, thereby increasing the amount of water in the oceans.

An accelerated rise in sea level would inundate coastal lowlands, increase the rate of shoreline erosion,
exacerbate coastal flooding, raise water tables, threaten coastal structures, and increase the salinity of rivers,
bays, and aquifers. In Ecuador this would affect low-lying, coastal regions, such as Santa Elena and Guayas,
including Guayaquil.

Investigate/Explain
Base your investigation set-up on the following YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHhvaUdWfDI
Design and modify your apparatus so that:
 The water container (flask or bottle) is airtight. This is very important!
 You will be able to heat the water, using either a light bulb or a bowl of surrounding water
 You will be able to see and measure the expansion of the water

Materials:
-container: conical flask or transparent 750ml bottle - to hold water
-airtight cork stopper or bottle lid - to hold thermometer and thin glass tube or straw
-plasticine or vaseline - to make the flask or bottle airtight
-strong light bulb or surrounding bowl of water to which hot water can be added - source of heat
-thin glass tube or thin, transparent drinking straw- to measure water expansion
-dye or food colouring - to make the water more visible
-thermometer - to measure the increase in water temperature
 -short strip of mm graph paper - to record water expansion

EXPERI-MENTAL 2020-2021
 INVESTIGATION (LAB AT HOME)
1. Complete the planning format: "Planning an Experimental Investigation"
2. Set up and carry out the investigation
3. Collect results in a results table
4. Process the results by drawing a line graph
5. Analyse the results and the graph by writing a summary of what has happened
6. Write a conclusion: SUPPORT or REJECT the hypothesis and justify your conclusion by
referring to the results, the graph and the summary

Discussion:
 Why did the level of water in the flask change? This is the important biochemistry question –
what are the physical properties of water which lead to its thermal expansion?
 What does this experiment suggest might occur if the oceans warm? Consider the possible
impacts of sea-level rise in low-lying coastal areas such as Bangladesh or South Florida or
Rotterdam or Guayaquil
 If global warming is not sufficient to cause significant snow and ice melt, would you expect
this thermal expansion to be enough to cause coastal flooding and erosion problems?
 Which would you expect to have a greater effect on sea level – the melting of Arctic sea-ice,
the Greenland ice cap, or ice sheets in the Antarctic? (This is a bit of a trick question: the melting
of sea-ice has no effect on sea levels, except in "uncorking" glaciers and ice streams which then
can flow more easily down into the ocean. It's dynamic ice sheets such as that in Greenland and in
West Antarctica that could, potentially, have a major impact on sea level. East Antarctica, for
now, seems relatively stable, and actually seems to be gaining ice.)

John Osborne
October 2020

EXPERI-MENTAL 2020-2021