Question

When water is frozen, it forms ice that has different properties. Why then do we say that freezing is a physical change?

Answer 1

When water freezes and forms ice, it undergoes a physical change. The composition of the constituent molecules remains the same. Melting and freezing are reversible physical changes.

Step-by-step explanation:

Water changes physically when it freezes and turns into ice. This is due to the fact that the mass percentages of the component molecules—111.19% hydrogen and 88.81% oxygen—remain unchanged. The identity of the matter remains unchanged while certain properties of the material change as a result of physical changes. As reversible physical processes, melting and freezing allow ice to return to liquid form and vice versa. Hence, water changes physically when it freezes and turns into ice.