Ever wonder why/how things float? This concept is called buoyancy. Take this interactive journey to learn and understand how and why certain materials float and others sink to the ocean floor.

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.'

Students investigate with common objects to see if they can make something that neither floats nor sinks, but rather "flinks" in the middle.

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.

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...

Explore the use of ballast to manipulate buoyancy in submarines by building a model of a submersible using two-liter bottles and balloons. Describe the balance of forces that is responsible for the surfacing and diving of submersibles.

Through this curricular unit, students are introduced to the important concept of density. The focus is on the more easily understood densities of solids, but students may also explore the densities of liquids and gases. Students devise...

This lesson introduces students to the important concept of density. The focus is on the more easily understood densities of solids, but students can also explore the densities of liquids and gases. Students devise methods to determine...

The tradebook, Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen, is an excellent tool in teaching measurement. Learners will engage in activities involving different types of measurement. In the story, five animal friends decide to take a boat ride....

Students will explore matter that sinks or floats when submerged in water and that matter is categorized as either a sinker or a floater. Students will work actively in small, cooperative learning groups as well as gather in a whole...

Each student uses a small quantity of modeling clay to make a boat that will float in a tub of water. The object is to build a boat that will hold as much weight as possible without sinking. In the process of designing and testing their...

Learn about density in this hands-on science experiment. Includes full list of materials, procedures, and scientific explanation of what makes an object float or sink. [PDF]

Use a condiment packet as a Cartesian diver to show how pressure changes cause the "diver" to float, sink or hover.