Activity
Museum of Science

Museum of Science and Industry: Online Science: Design a Submarine

For Students 3rd - 9th
Become an engineer, and design a submarine that moves in the water like a real submarine. Try making it sink, float, and hover in the water.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Sesame Street: Sink or Float Educator Guide

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
This is an educator's guide for a unit on things that sink or float. It includes lesson plans, experiments, and activities. Learners apply the scientific method as they investigate whether objects sink or float.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Water Activity

For Teachers K - 1st
Students investigate water by estimating how long it takes to freeze, then see if the ice cube will float in water, and eventually work with other items to see if they sink or float in water.
Lesson Plan
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)

Smile: Density in Relation to Float and Sink

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students find the densities of objects based on sinking or floating in this activity that demonstrates Archimedes Principle.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Mn Step: Sink or Float: All Liquids Do Not Have the Same Density

For Teachers K - 1st
An experiment in density. After a review of floating and sinking of different materials, students test four bottles, all holding four ounces of water, to see if they will float or sink. They each contain a different density of sugar...
Activity
Science is Fun

Science Is Fun: Sinking and Floating Soda Cans

For Students 4th - 6th
An experiment to determine if either a regular or a diet can of soda will float or sink when placed in water, and what causes this.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Mn Step: Sink or Float? Inquiry Investigation

For Teachers K - 1st
For this activity, students make predictions about whether different objects float or sink, then test them. They are asked to record their observations and results for each, and compare their results to others'.
Activity
Science is Fun

Fun Science: Sinking and Floating Soda Cans

For Students 9th - 10th
Why do some pop cans float in water while others don't? This easy experiment is a great example of the principle of density.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Floating and Falling Flows

For Teachers 6th - 9th
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...
Graphic
American Chemical Society

Middle School Chemistry: Density Sink and Float for Solids

For Students 9th - 10th
See how different solids can have different densities depending on their molecular make-up.
Graphic
American Chemical Society

Middle School Chemistry: Density Sink and Float for Liquids

For Students 9th - 10th
See how different liquids can have different densities depending on their molecular make-up.
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Floating and Sinking Potatoes

For Teachers 6th
After the teacher puts pieces of potatoes in water and salt water, the students predict what is going to happen and try to name what makes this happen.
Activity
Science is Fun

Fun Science: Bowling Balls: Sink or Float?

For Students 9th - 10th
For a dramatic illustration of density check out this demonstration. It's simple to do, only requiring a bowling ball and some water.
Activity
Other

National Engineers Week Foundation: Flinker

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students investigate with common objects to see if they can make something that neither floats nor sinks, but rather "flinks" in the middle.
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Ap Physics: Fluid Statics: Archimedes' Principle

For Students 11th - 12th
By the end of this section, you will be able to define buoyant force, state Archimedes' principle, understand why objects float or sink, and understand the relationship between density and Archimedes' principle.
Lesson Plan
Google

The Engineering Place: Balloon Flinking [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
A lesson and activity sheet on buoyancy. Students add weight to a helium-filled balloon to keep it suspended so that it won't float or sink, but instead will 'flink.'
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Physics: Archimedes' Principle

For Students 11th - 12th
From a chapter on Fluid Statics in a Physics textbook. This section of the chapter provides a detailed discussion of Archimedes' principle, buoyant force, floating and sinking, and the role of density. Includes questions, problems and...
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Submarine Race Experiment

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Balance the force of gravity with the force of the expanding gasses created by mixing baking soda and vinegar. Create a soda bottle submarine that sinks to the bottom of the bathtub and then rises back to the surface.
Lesson Plan
University of Florida

Florida Museum of Natural History: Investigating Water

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
This guide engages children in the process of scientific inquiry using the context of a favorite early childhood pastime-water play.
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: 1st Grade Act. 24: Interactive Writing

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
In this lesson, students will listen to nonfiction books about items that sink and float. Students will participate in filling in words to fill in a teacher-created chart that is connected to the information. Students will then write a...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Density of Solid Objects

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this science inquiry, students investigate whether volume or density of objects determine the floating or sinking in water. Using a rock and a block of wood teachers engage students in the discussion of density, mass and volume.
Lesson Plan
National Association of Geoscience Teachers

Nagt: Density Mystery Canisters

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students experiment with items that sink or float, and learn that water's density is equal to one, and objects/solutions with a density greater than one will sink, and those with a density less than one will float.
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: 1st Grade Act. 01: Exploration Tubs

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
In this lesson, students will investigate different categories related to safety, organisms, sink or float, boats, seeds, and water droppers. Students will use exploration tubs to make observations.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Mn Step: Solid and Liquid Density Investigation

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
For this activity, students investigate whether objects and liquids float or sink when placed in water. As they proceed, they will develop an understanding of what density is. Student handouts are provided.

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