Question

why does water expand as it freezes?
please explain, im thinking because it releases more energy and forms extra bonds and a solid is more dense?

Answer 1

water expands as it freezes because ice has a crystalline structure which means that the water molecules are arranged in a repeating structure. this structure is not compact because to form this it takes a lot of space and actually ice is a lot less denser than water because the molecules of water aren't as close together :) also water molecules form hydrogen bonds with each other and because of the shape of a water molecule the structure that's formed would be an open structure with gaps in it henxe why ice takes up more space than liquid water and yes water does release a lot of energy when it freezes
i hope it made sense