Mai’s science teacher told her that when there is more contact between the ice and water in a glass, the ice melts faster. She wants to test this statement so she designs her science fair project to determine if crushed ice or ice cubes will melt faster in a drink.

She begins with two cups of warm water. In one cup, she puts a cube of ice. In a second cup, she puts crushed ice with the same volume as the cube. What is your hypothesis? Will the ice cube or crushed ice melt faster, or will they melt at the same rate? Explain your reasoning.

Your teacher will give you a set of cards. Take turns with your partner to sort each card based on whether it would make more sense to think about the surface area or the volume of the figure referred to, when answering the question.

1. For each card that you sort, explain to your partner how you know it’s in the right category.
2. For each card that your partner sorts, listen carefully to the explanation. If you disagree, discuss your thinking and work to reach an agreement.