Does Water Expand or Contract When Heated?
Water is not like other liquids. It isn’t, well, a normal liquid. In other liquids, the basic principle holds true that heated liquids expand and cooled liquids contract. But water doesn’t exactly work the same way. Water does expand when heated and contracts when cooled, but not at all temperature levels. Water has a magic range where the rules do not apply. The main reason for this difference is its makeup. Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, and they exist as a loose bond. The range that is different is between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius. Water at any other temperature would expand when it is heated, and contract when cooled. However, at 4 degrees Celsius, water is at its most contracted state, but it isn’t frozen. It doesn’t freeze until zero degrees Celsius. This means as it goes toward 0 degrees it expands because of the crystalization of the water into ice. This stems from a reorganization of the oxygen and hydrogen bonds into stronger and more complex attachments. Because wat
