Welcome to the Ice Melting Simulation

Mathematicians and scientists, in addition to everyone who reads almost any account of the events of nature or the economy encounter units of measure. One of the primary challenges of chemistry and physics is to become comfortable with such terms as joule, hertz, mole, watt, and so on. Such terms represent units of measure.

This application explores units of measure by simulating one or the most important findings of current environmental science: climate changes. NASA has confirmed that the ice caps are melting. What will this mean in terms of the level of seawater.

To use this application, first click the Calculate button to get an introduction into unit conversions. Enter values in the text boxes and check to see if you did it correctly. Once you understand this, use the Hide button to get back to the main screen. Entering a percent in the field and clicking the Recalculate button, will show you the new water level depending on the percent entered.


You can change this lab in several ways:

  • Adjust the speed in which the water level moves to its new height.
  • Change the color of the water
  • Change the background graphic and refactor the equations so that they accurately show how high the water level would be with respect to the new objects.