What Happens When Salt Meets Ice?

We wrapped up our science unit on matter last week.  I had some ice left over from our ice cream making project, and thought this would be a super opportunity to explore what happens to ice when salt is introduced.  This, of course, led to a great discussion about why salt was used when we have icy roads and icy sidewalks.

The ice was initially cold, hard, and smooth.  When salt was added, we discovered that the ice changed.  The ice became "bumpy," and it began melting much faster than it did without the salt.  We hypothesized why this may be the case.  Students thought that the salt was "heating up" the ice, which caused it to turn to a liquid.  The properties that make up salt, actually love water.  They try to attach to the liquid water, which does make the ice warmer, and causes it to melt.