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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Buoyancy

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Come on Down!

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
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 lesson of six from NOAA. Lab groups then...
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Lesson Plan
Center for Precollegiate Education and Training

Buoyancy Boats

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Organizer
CPO Science

Physics Skill and Practice Worksheets

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Stop wasting energy searching for physics resources, this comprehensive collection of worksheets has you covered. Starting with introductions to the scientific method, dimensional analysis, and graphing data, these skills practice...
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Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Comparing the Density of an Object to the Density of Water

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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...
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Activity
Exploratorium

Descartes' Diver

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pique interest in water pressure, demonstrate buoyancy, and explore water displacement concepts with a homemade Cartesian diver. You may want to change the name of the toy, however, as is is not documented the Rene Descartes actually...
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Lesson Plan
National Geographic

You Can Take the Pressure!

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Put the pressure on as your class endeavors to construct an indestructible submersible! By watching a video, participating in class discussions, and the applying the complete scientific process, learners design a capsule that is slightly...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floating Fishes: How do Fishes Control Buoyancy?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Playing with balloons, water, oil, and bottles help put this lesson plan over the top! Participants use air-filled balloons in water tanks to experience gas compression. They also use oil-filled bottles to experiment with buoyancy....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Playing With Science

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scientists investigate the scientific concepts and principles that help make common toys such as hula hoops, yo-yos, slinkies, and silly putty work. As a class, they read "Backyard Rocket Science, Served Wet" to get a look behind...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bubble and Boyle

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Even middle schoolers still enjoy experimenting with bubbles! They execute a series of experiments enabling them to distinguish between convex and concave surfaces, explore the properties of buoyancy, surface tension, and density,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buoyancy: Integrating Science and Literature

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Integrate science and literature by using the scientific method to test the veracity of the floating peach described in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Clips from a Bill Nye: The Science Guy episode about buoyancy frontload...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Weighty Issue

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Want to get your students motivated in science class? Given only a piece of aluminum foil, assign groups the task of designing a "barge" that will support the weight of a bunch of pennies.  The group who is able to put the most pennies...
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Lesson Plan
Bonneville

TinkerCAD: Introduction to 3D Printing

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Steer young minds to build better boats. Future engineers first spend a few days exploring the TinkerCAD software and completing some embedded lessons. They then design sea crafts with buoyancy in mind and print them using a 3-D printer.
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Activity1:47
DiscoverE

Everyday Engineering: Foil Boats

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Keep one's dream of becoming an engineer afloat. Learners apply the engineering design process to build a boat out of aluminum foil. They start with a square boat, then consider whether boats of different shapes would be able to hold...
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Activity
Museum of Science

Design a Submarine

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
Don't just sink the boat. Using a closed container as a submarine, pupils experiment to see what to add to the container to make it float, sink to the bottom, and hover in the middle. After finding one option, learners see if they can...
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Activity
University of Waikato

Buoyancy in Water

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Change where an object floats in water. Pupils experiment with a Cartesian diver by squeezing on the side of a plastic bottle. Learners pay attention to the bulb of the pipette as the bottle is squeezed to determine what is happening...
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Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Foil Boats

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
How many pennies can an aluminum foil boat hold? That is the challenge in a collaborative activity designed to explore the concept of buoyancy. Learners use aluminum foil to build makeshift boats and test the weight they hold before...
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Professional Doc
National Science Teachers Association

Using Concept Maps in the Science Classroom

For Teachers 4th - 12th
A good concept map requires high thought processes. This makes it a great tool for teaching and evaluating your pupils. A helpful article describes a great approach for teaching young scholars the art of concept map building and how best...
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Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Buoyant Boats

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Eureka! Using the clay boats made in the previous lesson, learners investigate the idea of buoyancy and water displacement to finish the last installment of five in a Floaters and Sinkers unit. Their observations during the activity...
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Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Clay Boats

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Teach Engineering

What Floats Your Boat?

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Teach Engineering

Floaters and Sinkers

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
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...
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Activity
PBS

Paddle Power

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Potentially get all the way across the water. The fourth of five design challenges asks pupils to develop a plan for a paddle-powered boat that will store its energy. Given a limited number of supplies, the class members design, build,...
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Activity
PBS

Watercraft

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Whatever floats your boat—with some additional weight. The first activity in a five-part series challenges pupils to design a boat to hold pennies. Using the design process, learners design, build, and test their boats, making sure they...