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Curated OER
Sink or Float
Second graders explore floating and sinking and make predictions about whether certain objects are likely to sink or float. They read the story Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen. Pupils loacate rhyming words and discuss the events of...
Curated OER
Float and Sink
In this float or sink worksheet, 8th graders solve 1 science/math puzzle about displacement of water; the answer is available online.
Curated OER
Activity: Float a Clay Boat
Written to introduce pupils to buoyancy, this activity has collaborative groups work to design a floatable clay boat. They first observe that a stick of clay sinks in water and then are given their own stick to reshape into a floating...
Curated OER
Sink or Float
Using a variety of objects, learners conduct buoyancy experiments. They make predictions on which object will sink or float and test their predictions. They use a graphic organizer to record their findings.
Curated OER
Water: Float and Sink
First graders work in small groups to observe the tendency to float or sink for a variety of objects in water. They sort the objects and discuss their observations. They use aluminum foil to construct a boat and test it for weight capacity.
Curated OER
Floating and Sinking
Students conduct experiments in which they investigate which materials float and which sink. They examine what qualities the materials that float have in common. They carry out a scientific investigation, predict, and test their...
Teach Engineering
Clay Boats
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...
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...
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
Sink or Float?
Students investigate whether different objects sink or float in water using the Scientific Method. They listen to the book "Christopher Columbus" by Stephen Krensky, identify the steps of the Scientific Method, conduct the sink or float...
Curated OER
Dragon Boats
Students create a model boat. In this art lesson, students identify what makes a boat float and use milk cartons to create their own boat.
Curated OER
Physical Science- Sink or Float?
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.
Curated OER
1st Grade - Act. 19: Will it Float?
First graders drop items into water, and discuss why some things float and others sink.
Teach Engineering
Floaters and Sinkers
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...
Curated OER
The Science of a Historic Sinking
Incorporate science investigations to expand pupils' understanding of the Titanic.
Curated OER
What Floats Your Boat?
This open-ended boat building exercise is meant to be part of a three-lesson plan series on ships. Links to the other two lessons are included. This particular part is mostly a group lab activity in which they build a boat, find its load...
Curated OER
Ships 3: Grand Designs And Great Failures
Middle schoolers engage in this, the third in a three-part series on ships. The overall lesson series is designed to allow students to extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and...
Curated OER
Sink or Float?
Students make and test predictions about sinking and floating, and classify objects according to whether they sink or float.
Center for Precollegiate Education and Training
Buoyancy Boats
What did the sea say to the boat? Nothing, it just waved. An inquiry-based instructional activity starts with a simple concept on the Archimedes Principle and challenges pupils to make something out of clay that floats....
Curated OER
Sink or Float?
Students 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., that...
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...
Curated OER
Sinking and Floating
Students examine why some objects float or sink. In this physics instructional activity, students engage in several mini-experiments which challenge them to draw their own conclusions regarding why certain objects sink or float. An...
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
Buoyant Boats
Students design and construct a boat out of aluminum foil and a few other simple materials. The boats then be tested by floating them in water, then adding mass until they sink. They explore the various shapes of boat construction.