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Thermal Expansion of Water

Provided by: UCAR |Published on: December 19, 2023

Activity - Classroom

5678910

Synopsis

In this 20-30 minute experiment, students will see how an increase in water temperature causes an increase in water volume.
Students will learn how increased global temperatures cause the thermal expansion of ocean water, contributing to sea level rise.

Subjects: Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: UCAR Science Education Group, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Region: Global

Languages: English

Positives

Students can use a lamp to heat the water instead of a Bunsen burner.
Students can use sunlight to heat the water, resulting in a more realistic example of what happens in the real world.
Students can complete the experiment in one class period because it takes less than 45 minutes for the water level to rise significantly.
This activity can be a class demonstration or a hands-on experiment.

Additional Prerequisites

Differentiation

The “Important points to remember” might confuse students. The wording is not scientifically clear: “if this heat from global temperature rise is passed on to the water, water expands and increases in volume.” Another way to write this might be: “as added greenhouse gases cause the lower atmosphere to warm up, some of the heat is passed on to the ocean. The oceans warm up, and the water expands and increases in volume. Warmer ocean temperatures cause global sea levels to increase because water expands when it warms.”
This experiment could be used in a lesson about sea level rise or climate change.
Other resources on this topic include this video on water's heat capacity, this article on the future of sea level rise, and this lesson on the differences between land ice and sea ice.

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