This project presents an interesting puzzle. A disk of wood will float face-up, that is, with its circular cross-section parallel to the surface of the water. A long log of wood, however, floats with the circular cross-section...

Students discover fluid dynamics related to buoyancy through experimentation and optional photography. Using one set of fluids, they make light fluids rise through denser fluids. Using another set, they make dense fluids sink through a...

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Definition of buoyant force and how weight and density relate to buoyant force and the ability to float.

NOVA explores the basic principle of buoyancy. Also included at this site are some interesting brain-teasers related to the topic.

Students will use critical thinking skills to predict the maximum mass that a ship can hold without sinking. Students will then test their prediction by sailing their loaded ship.

Students follow the steps of the engineering design process as they design and construct balloons for aerial surveillance. After their first attempts to create balloons, they are given the associated Estimating Buoyancy lesson to learn...

Read to find out about the first boat builders. Construct your own boat out of common materials to explore buoyancy.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A simulation to help you understand how a diver floats! Learn the principles of buoyancy and its relationship to the pressure gradient in a liquid in a gravitational field.

Through this curricular unit, students are introduced to the important concept of density. The focus is on the more easily understood densities of solids, but students may also explore the densities of liquids and gases. Students devise...

Students use modeling clay, a material that is denser than water and thus ordinarily sinks in water, to discover the principle of buoyancy. They begin by designing and building boats out of clay that will float in water, and then refine...

Engage students in the study of the ocean and saltwater with these activities. Students will see that saltwater has different physical properties than freshwater - mainly density. This lesson can serve as a springboard into other...

Learn how salt increases the density of water and creates a condition of buoyancy.

In this activity, students apply their knowledge of buoyancy and ship stability to design a model ship. They test, evaluate, and refine the design of the model to optimize performance. Background information and other activities are...

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] The use of Archimedes' Law to solve buoyancy problems is explained. Includes links to simulations on Archimedes' Principle and buoyancy.

A activity where students learn how warm water is less dense than cold water, and what this means for global climate change as ice from the polar regions melts. Students will do experiments in buoyancy and water density when hot or cold,...

Join Jake on an underwater rescue mission by building an underwater robot to help him find his ring. Players will learn about buoyancy while trying to rescue the treasure.

SPRK STEM challenges are fun, interactive activities that challenge students to use creativity and team-work to move through simple steps of the design process in order to build Sphero-based creations. The Hydro-hypothesis challenge...

Explore the use of ballast to manipulate buoyancy in submarines by building a model of a submersible using two-liter bottles and balloons. Describe the balance of forces that is responsible for the surfacing and diving of submersibles.

Explore the principles of buoyancy and semipermeability in this activity by using bubbles and dry ice.

Students are challenged to measure the temperature profile of the lower atmosphere. Experiment serves as an introduction to buoyancy, drag force, sensor calibration, and data plotting.

Students learn about displacement, density and buoyancy then apply their knowledge to build a floating object.

Each student uses a small quantity of modeling clay to make a boat that will float in a tub of water. The object is to build a boat that will hold as much weight as possible without sinking. In the process of designing and testing their...

Describes the properties of seawater and the variations depending on its location, e.g., near a shoreline, in an estuary, or as sea ice. Discusses the instruments scientists use to measure the density of water and explains other...

This lesson teaches the concept of measurement using grams and ounces through a student-created experiment. The students will get to test their own scientific predictions by constructing a boat and trying to sink it. This lesson provides...