If you put a cup of hot water in the freezer to make ice cubes, the ice cubes will float. This phenomenon is a result of the unique behavior of water when it freezes.
When you place hot water in the freezer, it starts to cool down rapidly. As the temperature of the water drops, the water molecules slow down and come closer together. As water approaches its freezing point (0°C or 32°F), the molecules arrange themselves into a crystal lattice structure, forming ice.
Unlike most substances, water is less dense as a solid (ice) than as a liquid. This means that the same amount of water occupies more space as ice than as liquid water. Consequently, when the water freezes and turns into ice, its volume increases, and it becomes less dense than the surrounding liquid water.
Since ice is less dense than liquid water, the ice cubes will be lighter than an equivalent volume of water, causing them to float on the water's surface.
So, when you put a cup of hot water in the freezer to make ice cubes, the ice cubes that form will float on the surface of the remaining liquid water in the cup. This behavior is a fundamental property of water and has practical implications in various natural processes, such as the freezing of lakes and the formation of icebergs.