Arizona State University
Physics of Boats
Let's go sailing! An instructive unit includes six lessons with multiple activities to teach scholars about density, center of gravity, buoyancy, and the Archimedes Principle. They can complete the final project of building a boat...
Teach Engineering
Buoyant Boats
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...
Teach Engineering
Above-Ground Storage Tanks in the Houston Ship Channel
Introduce your class to storage tank failures caused by major storms with an activity that looks at how the concepts of Archimedes' Principle and Pascal's Law affect the storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel. The background...
University of Southern California
Design and Test an Air Lift Siphon
Build an air lift siphon using your mad physics skills! Learners first investigate the importance of circulating water in aquaponics systems. They then use density to their advantage as they engineer an air lift siphon
Mathematics Assessment Project
A Golden Crown?
For this assessment task, learners determine whether a crown with given information is composed of pure gold. The task expects algebraic and numerical solution methods, so unlike Archimedes, no bathtub is necessary.
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
How Does the USS Alabama Float?
Students investigate buoyancy. In this buoyancy lesson, students apply the Archimedes Principle of Buoyancy to the experiment conducted in class to determine how battleships float.
Curated OER
Physical properties of matter
Sixth graders find the physical properties of matter. In this matter lesson, 6th graders measure mass, volume, and density. Students are broken into 3 tiers with 3 different activities based on their understanding of mass and volume.
Curated OER
Bathtub Physics - Density, Buoyancy and Flotation
Students study Archimedes' Principle, flotation and the reaction of buoyant forces and explain the relationship between density and flotation.
Teach Engineering
Rock and Boat
Present the class with a question on whether the water level of a pond will rise they take a large rock out of a boat and drop it into the pond. Groups come down on all sides of the question and try to justify their answers. The activity...
Florida International University
Simulating Microgravity with Buoyancy
How do astronauts know how to live and work in a weightless environment? It doesn't come naturally! Junior physicists conduct experiments to examine the link between buoyancy and microgravity. Each activity illustrates a different aspect...
Anglophone School District
Fluids: Force in Fluids
Discuss Archimedes' Principle and fluid forces with your young scientists as they describe the relationship between mass, volume, and density during a series of engaging activities. They use the Participle Theory of Matter to explore the...
CK-12 Foundation
Going Fishing
Why do some things float and others sink? A creative simulation allows learners to adjust mass and volume of an object to affect its buoyancy in water. A graph records the effect of each manipulation.
Curated OER
The Buoyancy Factor
Students examine why some objects float in water while others sink and the ability of something to float does not depend entirely on its weight. Archimedes' principle is introduced and buoyant force is discussed. Practice calculations...
Curated OER
How Dense Are You?
Students examine how density is a value that describes what type of a material an object is made of regardless of its shape or size.
Curated OER
Float Your Boat
Young scholars design an experiment to find density using Archimedes' Principle. In this physics lesson plan, students calculate density using mass and volume. They share their findings in class.
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...
Teach Engineering
Above-Ground Storage Tank Design Project
The challenge: determine whether a tank will float. A design activity has groups work as engineering teams in order to determine the stability of given tanks and liquid contents. The teams need to determine the equations to...
CPO Science
Physics Skill and Practice Worksheets
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...
Rice University
College Physics for AP® Courses
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains...
Curated OER
What Floats Your Boat?
Students discover the Archimedes principle through a buoyancy experiment. They measure the water displacement of a lump a clay which is denser than water then reshape the clay into a bowl which floats but displaces more water.
Curated OER
Cardboard Boat Challenge
Students build a boat out of cardboard and tape. They apply Archimedes' Principle to their design.
Curated OER
Properties of Matter
Learners describe four states of matter and their characteristics, explain thermal expansion of matter, interpret state changes in terms of kinetic theory of matter, explain relationship between temperature and volume of a gas, state...
Curated OER
Float Your Boat
Students investigate buoyancy, displacement and density. In this flotation lesson students study the Archimedes' Principle, analyze data and draw conclusions.