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...
Curated OER
Buoyancy: Who Sank the Boat?
Students examine whether objects will sink or float. In this buoyancy lesson students bring in objects and experiment to see if they sink or float.
Curated OER
Blowing Ballast
Oceanographers participate in a memorable hands on experience about buoyancy. They build a model of a submersible using a plastic bottle and a balloon. Afterward, they answer assessment questions. An answer key and some terrific...
Curated OER
Playing With Science
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...
Curated OER
Sink or Float: Exploring the Laws of Buoyancy
Students explore the relationship between density and buoyancy. After watching a video explaining buoyancy, students discuss displacement and floating. Students have a raft building competition. Afterward, they conduct experiments to...
Curated OER
Sink or Float?
Have your class explore density and buoyancy using this resource. Learners read the book Who Sank the Boat, and use several items, such as rubber balls, bottle caps, wood, and other household items to conduct an experiment. Using a tub...
Curated OER
Will It Sink Or Float?
Learners develop their understanding of buoyancy and density related to sinking and floating. They investigate which objects sink and float through experimentation. They determine that different substances sink or float depending on...
Tech Museum of Innovation
Lighter than Air
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.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Who Sank the Boat?
Fifth graders experiment with student-made aluminum boats to test for buoyancy. They design a boat and determine how many marbles it takes to sink it while recording their data in a spreadsheet. They design a graph using the data and...
Curated OER
Density and Buoyancy Experimental Design
Students must plan, design, and conduct an experiment that answers the scientific question: "Come up with a question that addresses the factors (variables) of the water and its effect on whether an object floats or sinks."
Discovery Education
Future Fleet
Turn your pupils into engineers who are able to use scientific principals to design a ship. This long-term project expects pupils to understand concepts of density, buoyancy, displacement, and metacenter, and apply them to constructing a...
Curated OER
Engineering
Students examine how Shell uses engineering. In this engineering principles lesson students visit a web-pages, answer questions, and examine the ways that engineers go about exploring different ideas.
Cornell University
Density
Certain things just do not mix, including liquids of varying densities. Learners collect data to determine the densities of several liquids. They then use the density information to predict the type of liquid.
Curated OER
Floating Vegetables
Students design a craft that safely floats vegetables across a classroom. The teacher provides some materials, but the child may as well. As the experiment is created, they have to fill out worksheets to keep the actiivity organized....
Reach Out!
Paper Clip Sailing
Students explain that some things can float on top of water because of what we call "surface tension." They see that if something happens to disturb these water molecules from tugging on each other, the skin-like surface breaks up.
Curated OER
Sink or Float?
Students make and test predictions about sinking and floating, and classify objects according to whether they sink or float.
Curated OER
Sink or Float?
Young scholars will determine whether various objects sink or float in water. They do not need to explain why objects sink or float. They are rather to be encouraged to observe that the same objects will sink or float every time, i.e.,...
Space Awareness
The Big Meltdown
Explore the world (our world) of melting ice caps. Why are these caps melting? What is the effect of melting ice caps? Dive into the ever-present issue of global warming with a resource that has learners looking at data and participating...
Curated OER
Sorting
Students sort a variety of manipulatives and use a software program that provides more sorting practice.
Curated OER
Water and Ice
Students investigate the states of matter. In this physics lesson, students use water and ice to demonstrate the characteristics of a solid and liquid. Students record their observations as the state of the water changes.
Curated OER
Properties of Matter
Ninth graders explore the molecular structure of matter and how it can affect the physical characteristics of a specific material. They demonstrate that isotopes of an element have different masses. Students demonstrate that the rates of...
Curated OER
Life and Death Situations in Swimming
Students practice what to do in the case of water emergencies. They experiment with using a pair of jeans to create a flotation device and learn to use a life preserver to pull others to safety.
Curated OER
Ship Building Trip
Students travel to a ship building plant to see how they are built. They enter into discussion and writing about the task of the building. This lesson is multiple intelligence in design and valuable because of the real life exposure.