Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Debris

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students perform experiments to examine if debris float, or blow in the wind. The effects of these characteristics on the marine debris are then discussed. They determine how a material can influence what becomes marine debris.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Debris

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Now is the time to educate tomorrow's citizens to care for the planet, and here is a lesson to help facilitate the process. Collect some marine debris and bring it into class. Have your class separate it into types and then test each...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Float Your Boat

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate buoyancy, displacement and density.  In this flotation lesson students study the Archimedes' Principle, analyze data and draw conclusions. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wonderful Water

For Teachers K
Students identify the various states of water and its natural flow downward. As a class, students take digital pictures of different forms of water and create a multimedia presentation describing their photographs. Groups of students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floaters and Sinkers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders define density as the amount of mass per volume a material contains, compare the densities of several types of materials, especially those that sink in water compared to those that float. They use two different methods to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating Density: Heavy Ice

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students end up learning the formula for density and calculate the densities of various materials, and predict if they sink or float.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density - An Introduction

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students experiment with objects of different densities. In this density instructional activity, students examine same-sized objects with different weights, then look at a teacher explanation of density. Students make wave bottles and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buoyant Boats

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build Your Own Submarine

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students construct their own submarine following a certain procedure. In this physics lesson, students calculate the density of objects using a mathematical formula. They explain why some object floats in water while some do not.
Worksheet
Curated OER

How Fish Maintain Neutral Buoyancy

For Students 7th - 10th
In this buoyancy worksheet, students read about neutral buoyancy and that the downward force of gravity is equal and opposite to the upward force of water. They answer four critical thinking questions about buoyancy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Big Enough?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners explore the concept of density and buoyancy. In this physics lesson, students discover the different factors that affect an object's density and buoyancy in water. Learners conduct several investigations to further...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Density and Salinity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners observe how different water densities control the depth at which different water masses occur. They explain one fact that they comprehend about salt water. Students comprehend that temperature and salinity affect the density...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Displacement

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students formulate a hypothesis using critical thinking skills. They use an orange to examine the displacement of water as the orange sinks or floats.
Lesson Plan
Discovery Science Center

Kindergarten Observing, Comparing and Contrasting

For Teachers K Standards
Although this is a science instructional activity, it can be adapted to help meet Common Core standards in math as well. Starting scientists describe physical properties of objects and explore three forms of water. To address the Common...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It Matters

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students use descriptive vocabulary to discuss the attributes of matter. Then, they sort objects or pictures by the type of matter they are comprised of. Finally, students match objects of matter with similar attributes and create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density Lab Activities

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars participate in several density lab activities in order to clarify the misconceptions that solids sink and liquids float. Students work with triple beam balances to find mass of objects to calculate density.
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Rock and Boat

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Present the class with a question on whether the water level of a pond will rise they take a large rock out of a boat and drop it into the pond. Groups come down on all sides of the question and try to justify their answers. The activity...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Density Lab

For Students 9th - 10th
In this biology worksheet, students use the website given to become familiar with the equipment of a lab. The activity involves a link to a virtual laboratory. Then they determine an objects mass and volume by placing it in a graduate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density and Buoyancy Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate why some objects float or sink in water. In this physics activity, students calculate the density of clay ball using a mathematical equation. They write a complete lab report about the experiment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Salinity

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners define and discuss salinity, conduct classroom experiment to determine salinity of water sample by using hydrometer, record predictions, and demonstrate understanding of how salinity influences object's ability to float in water.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Letter Ww

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students explore letter Ww. In this letter recognition lesson, students participate in country, state, food, literature, physical education, colors, careers, music, and game activities that are linked to the main lesson page. Students...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Dunkin` for Density

For Students 6th - 8th
In this density worksheet, students complete a science lab experiment to determine the density that an object will float or sink in water. Students fill in a chart with their data, answer 4 short answer questions and write 1 conclusion...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buoyant Force

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students illustrate Archimedes' Principle of Buoyant Force. In this graphing lesson, students will observe that the buoyant force on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces. Students will then create a graph showing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Concrete Canoes

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore and analyze the relationship of buoyancy and displacement needed to make an object float. They examine various boat designs, then design and build clay and aluminum boats that hold a cargo of marbles.