Why does ice melt?

Everything around you is made of tiny pieces called particles. They are far too small to see, but they are always moving.

In ice, the particles are packed in tidy rows. They are cold, so they only jiggle a little, and they hold on to each other.

When ice gets warm, the particles jiggle faster and faster. At last they wiggle free from their rows and start to slide past each other. The ice has turned into liquid water. That is melting!

Warm the water more and the particles zoom around so fast that they fly apart. Now it is a gas called steam. Take away the heat and it all goes backward: steam becomes water, and water becomes ice.

Ice, water and steam are the same stuff. Only the dance of the particles is different.

Steam and hot water can burn, so always ask a grown-up to help with anything hot.