Activity
Exploratorium

Descartes' Diver

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pique interest in water pressure, demonstrate buoyancy, and explore water displacement concepts with a homemade Cartesian diver. You may want to change the name of the toy, however, as is is not documented the Rene Descartes...
Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Archimedes' Principle, Pascal's Law and Bernoulli's Principle

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What do Pascal's law, Archimedes' Principle, and Bernoulli's Principle have to do with fluid mechanics? The included PowerPoint presentation provides the basic definitions and equations associated with the three. A set of homework...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hot Air Balloon

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Pupils view a video and discuss the mechanics of a hot air balloon. They, in groups, construct a functioning hot air balloon.
Lesson Plan
University of Southern California

Design and Test an Air Lift Siphon

For Students 6th - 12th
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
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air and Water Pressure

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Students examine buoyancy and fluid pressure. They conduct a series of fun experiments to discover the effects of pressure and explore how pressure differences can be used to float, lift, transport, or hold a material in place.
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Physics of Fluid Mechanics

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Five lessons about the study of fluid mechanics. The unit concludes with students applying what they have learned to determine the stability of individual above-ground storage tanks given specific storm conditions so they can analyze...
Website
Learn AP Physics

Learn Ap Physics: Physics B: Fluid Mechanics

For Students 9th - 10th
A site dedicated to help students prepare for the AP Physics B test. This specific site reviews fluid mechanics including hydrostatic pressure, buoyancy, Archimedes' principle, Bernoulli's equation, and fluid flow continuity. Site...
Unit Plan
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Open Course Ware: Buoyancy

For Students 9th - 10th
Students explore buoyancy. Some topics examined in the activities are buoyant force, stability of floating objects, and Archimedes' principle. The resource consists of video clips, lecture notes, practice problems, and exam questions....
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Cartesian Diver

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students observe Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle, and the ideal gas law as a Cartesian diver moves within a closed system.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Rock and Boat

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students observe Archimedes' principle in action in this challenge where a toy boat is placed in a container of water and a rock is placed on the floating boat. Students must explain why the water level rises/falls/stays the same based...