The reason why ice is lighter than water is that a certain mass of ice occupies more space than the same mass of water.
A water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms (H) and one oxygen atom (O). The atoms of hydrogen and oxygen are bound by sharing their electrons with one another. This bond is called a “covalent bond”.However, since oxygen atoms pull electrons more strongly than hydrogen atoms, the oxygen atom in a water molecule has a slightly negative charge and the hydrogen atoms have a slightly positive charge. So adjacent water molecules are attracted to one another through the slightly negatively charged oxygen atoms and the slightly positively charged hydrogen atoms. This interaction is called “hydrogen bonding”.
Structure of ice and water:
Ice has a diamond structure due to the hydrogen bonding. Water does not have such an orderly structure, but water molecules are squeezed close to one another.
The one with more space is ice and the one with less space is ice.
As you can see, ice has more space in ice than in water! This is the reason why ice is lighter than water. Therefore, ice can float on water.
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