Teach Engineering
What Floats Your Boat?
Clay's as good a material as any to build a boat, right? An introductory lesson sets the stage for two activities associated with buoyancy. The first involves building boats out of clay, while the second uses these boats to measure the...
Curated OER
The Magical Diving Sub
First graders discuss and predict if a given object sinks or floats. They record their predictions on a data sheet. Pupils test the objects and organize them into floating/sinking groups. Students observe the floating and sinking of a...
Curated OER
Density
Learners predict when an object will float or sink based on comparison of density of the object to the density of the substance in which it is placed. The access a website and sketch the object in the first column of their table and then...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this instructional activity on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of...
Curated OER
Types of Marine Debris
Young scholars conduct an experiment. In this marine debris and environment protection lesson, students categorize trash into piles, predict whether these trash items will sink, float or be picked up and carried by the wind and then...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
Center for Learning in Action
Density
Explore the concept of density within states of matter—gases, liquids, and solids—through a group experiment in which young scientists test objects' texture, color, weight, size, and ability to sink or float.
Curated OER
Liquids: Floating and Sinking
Third graders conduct an experiment. In this floating and sinking liquids instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss density and investigate it using syrup, vegetable oil and colored water. Students observe the results and complete a...
Center for Precollegiate Education and Training
Buoyancy Boats
What did the sea say to the boat? Nothing, it just waved. An inquiry-based lesson starts with a simple concept on the Archimedes Principle and challenges pupils to make something out of clay that floats. Then, they design an object out...
Curated OER
Construct a Buoyant Scuba Diver
Groups of young oceanographers get to use action figures to experiment with the property of buoyancy! This memorable lesson plan provides detailed background information, a link to the laboratory worksheet, and thorough instruction...
Curated OER
What Floats Your Boat?
Middle schoolers are introduced to the concept of buoyancy. The Video used in this lesson demonstrates and explains the characteristics of objects that sink and float. It presents the concepts of displacement, weight, and buoyancy.
Curated OER
I've Got That Sinking Feeling
Students design a simple boat and predict how much weight it can carry. They should also discover why objects float or sink and how this can be determined experimentally. A great lesson on buoyancy!
Curated OER
What is Density?
Students explore physical science by conducting an in-class experiment. In this density lesson, students define vocabulary terms dealing with physics and discuss their knowledge of density. Students conduct several "sink or float"...
Curated OER
Does Soap Float?
Students form hypotheses and carry out an investigation in order to answer a central question: Does soap float? The focus of this instructional activity is on scientific inquiry, but it incorporates scientific topics such as sinking and...
Curated OER
To Float or Not to Float, That is the Question?
Ninth graders develop operational definition of density, do computations using density equation, categorize pieces of matter as being able to float on
water or not, based on density, explain why some objects sink or float based on...
Teach Engineering
Floaters and Sinkers
Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...
American Chemical Society
Changing the Density of an Object - Adding Material
In this sixth of seven activities revolving around the concept of density, physical science fans figure out if anything can be done to change the density of an object. Demonstrate by placing a can of regular and a can of diet soda into a...
American Chemical Society
Comparing the Density of an Object to the Density of Water
Investigators construct a makeshift balance and compare equal volumes of wax and water. They do the same for clay and water. Then they discover whether the wax and clay will float or sink in water. Ultimately this is a comparison of...
Cornell University
Buoyancy
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...
American Chemical Society
Temperature Affects Density
Different substances can have different densities, but can the same substance have different densities? Lesson explores the effect of temperature on the density of water. Extension idea connects the concept of how melting ice in lakes...
NOAA
Come on Down!
What do we do when a dive is too dangerous for humans to accomplish? Send in the robots! Middle school scientists get acquainted with several different models of submersible robots in the second instructional activity of six from NOAA....
Curated OER
Dragon Boats
Students create a model boat. In this art lesson plan, students identify what makes a boat float and use milk cartons to create their own boat.
Curated OER
What's The Matter: A Sinker or Floater?
Students conduct an experiment. For this water lesson, students watch the lesson "Float and Sink" on an interactive website. Students learn how to test items in water and then work in groups to test their items. Students discuss their...
Curated OER
I'm Warm Now
Third graders graph how much water is wasted while waiting for it to get warm in the spigot in the sink. In this graphing lesson plan, student first predict how much water is wasted. That night they test it out at home and the next day...