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What are ice and frost?

When it gets very cold, we often see frozen puddles or frost on the pavements and grass outside.

In this article you can learn:

  • The difference between ice and frost
  • How ice forms
  • How frost forms
  • What an ice sheet is

This resource is suitable for weather topics for primary school learners.

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Video - What are ice and frost?

Watch this video to learn about the difference between ice and frost and how they form.

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How does ice form?

  1. Liquid water freezes and turns into a solid (ice) when the temperature is around 0掳C or lower.
  2. Ice needs something to freeze on to like: cold surfaces, tiny pieces of dirt or other ice crystals.

How does frost form?

  1. The air around us contains .
  2. Water vapour lands on a cold surface, like the pavement of grass, which is already at freezing point (0掳C) or lower.
  3. The air is so cold that the water vapour condenses into liquid water droplets.
  4. The water droplets freeze and turn into tiny ice crystals, which we call frost.
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Examples of ice and frost

Compare ice and frost in the UK to the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 5, Frozen ripples on a puddle, Frozen puddle When liquid water, like a puddle, reaches its freezing point (0掳C or lower) it turns into ice. In this picture, the ripples in the water have frozen too.

The Antarctic ice sheet

The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest piece of ice on Earth. Unfortunately, a lot of the ice is melting because of global warming. This means some animals are losing their homes and the sea levels are rising.

Learn more about global warming and sustainability here: 2nd level Sustainability

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Key words

Key words about ice and frost

  • ice - Frozen water.
  • frost - Small white ice crystals on the ground or other surfaces when the temperature is below freezing.
  • icicle - A hanging piece of ice formed when dripping water freezes. As water droplets flow downwards they freeze on the surface, so the icicle gets bigger and longer.
  • freezing point - The point at which water becomes a solid. This is usually at 0掳 Celsius or lower.
  • Celsius - A unit of measurement used for temperature. 0掳 is the freezing point of water and 100掳 for the boiling point of water. Celsius is also sometimes called centigrade.
  • ice sheets - Huge areas of ice that have built up and cover land over a long period of time. There are ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, where it is extremely cold.
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Test your knowledge

Quiz

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Challenge

Challenge

Now that you know more about ice and frost, try writing a cold weather poem like these great poems by Ratho Primary pupils.

Cold Weather Poems. video

Ratho Primary pupils wrote these great poems about the cold weather typical of the Scottish winter.

Cold Weather Poems
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