Students explore the principles of buoyancy and Archimedes' Principle and design their own flotation device. They compare the dimensions of a model to the real object to determine scale and analyze the models to suggest improvements.

Young scholars explore water properties by conducting a class experiment. For this buoyancy lesson, students utilize freshwater, saltwater, plastic cups, hard boiled eggs and food coloring to experiment with the floating capabilities of...

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...

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...

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...

Begin with an introduction to famous deep-sea submersibles. Learners work in groups to gather information on different vessels and then share with the class. Each group then uses water displacement to help calculate the density of...

Students design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The lesson focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.

A classic investigation on the density of liquids is explained for you in this lesson plan. Te begin, you prepare water samples of different salinities and then add different food coloring to keep them separated and easily identified....

Create a cushion of carbon dioxide gas to float some soap bubbles on. Many concepts can be demonstrated through this activity: Carbon dioxide gas is more dense than air Bubbles are semipermeable, allowing only carbon dioxide to diffuse...

Buoyancy is the fine line between a ship and a submarine. The presentation covers fluid pressure, air pressure, Pascal's Principle, elevation, Archimedes Principle, buoyancy, and Bernoulli's Principle.

Scholars participate in two design challenges concerning flight in the second instructional activity of the series. They design balloon crafts that have neutral buoyancy and forward motion.

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.

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.

Have your ever noticed that a cork floats in the middle of a glass that's filled to the brim with water, but will always float along the inside edge of a glass that's only half full with water? It's true! Young scientists ponder this...

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...

Students investigate the science behind hot air balloon flight. In a lecture and demonstration, they observe how helium-filled balloons are affected by the wind. Using basic household items such as newspaper, paper cups, and balloons,...

Learners investigate which objects sink and which ones float. Learners engage in an experiment, make predictions, and record results on a graphic organizer. This is a comprehensive and easy to follow resource.

A neat handout immerses learners in the history of canoe making. After reading, small groups of mini engineers work to craft a canoe that will not be immersed! This is an ideal exercise in engineering design for your STEM curriculum or...

A simple and effective presentation could be helpful for your young scientists. Learners consider whether or not a piece of wood, glass, cork, brick, and ice will float or sink when placed in water. After the class has made their...

Learners form lab groups and work together to construct a submarine out of a soda bottle. Next, they observe its action in a tub of water as the inner pressure is changed. It is an engaging experiment. However, links to outside resources...

After reading about the history and science of personal floatation devices, patents, and intellectual property, engineering teams design a life vest for a can of soup. To evaluate which groups considered the need for waterproofing, hold...

Amaze your scholars with an activity that uses a Cartesian diver to demonstrate Pascal's Law, Archimedes' Principle, and the Ideal Gas Law. Groups then repeat the process and make their own diver move up and down in a bottle.

Use the scientific method to experiment with an egg. Your class can examine buoyancy and density by finding how many spoons of salt are needed to float an egg. They can predict, experiment, record data, and analyze results.

In this Archimedes' principle instructional activity, high schoolers answer 13 questions about the concepts of Archimedes' principle such as water displacement, buoyancy and force. The answer questions from a lab they did in class to...