Does salt affect the rate at which water boils?

EXPERIMENT

Does salt affect the rate at which water boils?

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My Equipment

Method

What did we do?

My Prediction

What I think will happen?

I predict that water will boil more quickly when salt is added. Furthermore, I believe the higher that ration of salt to water, the quicker the water will boil.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

My mom always says to add salt to make the water boil more quickly and I just needed to know whether this was scientific fact or a wives' tale. Therefore, I conducted an experiment to determine whether salt affects the rate at which water boils.

I first measure the time it takes for the first boiling bubble surfaces when boiling ONLY water.I then measure how long it takes water to reach a boil when I've added 2 tablespoons salt to 2 cups water. Finally, I measure how long it takes water to boil when I've added 1/2 cup salt to 2 cups water. For a more detailed description of my method is available in my blog at: http://katyy.edublogs.org/2015/03/13/my-scientific-method/ ‎

My Method

My prediction was correct, when salt is add to water the boil rate increases. In this experiment, a mixture with 2 tablespoons salt and 2 cups water on average boiled in 5.38 minutes whereas plain water took an average of 6.05 minutes. Therefore, salt increased the rate of boil by 11%. Read more about my findings in my blog, at: http://katyy.edublogs.org/2015/03/14/results-from-my-experiment/A chemical explanation for the above findings is available at: http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1447

Results

What happened ' Why?

You'll need: - 1 quart pot - 12 tablespoons salt - 12 c. water - a consistent heat source (stove top) - a stopwatch - kitchen thermometer - large stock pot for bringing 18 c water to room temp.

This video helped me understand my findings!

Variables

Controls - initial water temperature, heat level (stove on medium), pan, thermometerDependent - boil rate in mins. and secs.Independent - salt

By: Katy Y2nd period science