Why does salt melt ice?It lowers the melting and freezing point of water.Oh, OK. Wait, I don't get it. Doesn't that mean the salt make ice colder?Let me explain. Pure water freezes at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, right?At that temperature we can say that the rate of freezing is the same as the rate of melting.So in other words, at water's freezing point there's a sort of equilibrium between freezing and melting.Right. Throwing salt on ice upsets the balance.Upsets it how?The salt dissolves into the liquid water, which means that some of the water molecules are replaced by salt.
