Does salt added to water decrease the time needed to reach boiling point?

[turbo]

just helped my niece test her hypothesis that salt added to water would decrease the time needed to reach boiling (100 C) using a candy thermometer

she used the 2 cups of water and did 3 tests each with 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 tablespoons of salt

pot was identical, and was cooled to same starting temperature each time

she let the salt dissolve first, before initiating boiling. She found that the time to boiling point was nearly identical for 0 and 1 tablespoons, but the time to boiling decreased for each of the next sets of tests by about 1 to 1.5 minutes.

She is full of questions, and possible next steps

It is so nice to see her excited about it

It's nice to see that you are willing to explore the scientific method with her. Many adults are not so willing and go down the "everybody knows" route, which is counter-productive with kids. Kudos!