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
Will It Sink Or Float?
Have your class predict whether objects will sink or float in water. Learners consider a data table of mass, volume and whether the object sank or floated. They develop an evidence-based explanation for the results.
Curated OER
Sink or Float?
Students predict and test different items to see if they sink or float. For this sink and float lesson plan, students predict whether an item is buoyant or not, and learn that size and weight do not matter when it comes to buoyancy.
Curated OER
Sink/Float Discovery bottle
Investigate which items float and which ones sink using this resource. Learners participate in an activity in which they investigate this phenomena. Then they describe the experimental process, and learn how to display their results.
Curated OER
1st Grade - Act. 19: Will it Float?
First graders drop items into water, and discuss why some things float and others sink.
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
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...
American Chemical Society
Float and Sink
We're not talking about the kitchen sink. Learners explore what types of objects sink and float in water in an inquiry-based lesson. With experimentation, they find similarities between materials that float and those that sink.
Curated OER
Investigating the Effect of Salinity on the Density and Stability of Water
Water with varying amounts of dissolved salt are dyed and then used to compare densities. The objective is to discover the effect of salinity, and therefore density, on ocean water on the stability of the ocean. Many branches of science...
Curated OER
What Objects Sink and What Objects Float
Special needs students explore why certain objects sink or float. They will make predictions on what objects will sink or float. Students conduct an experiment using a large bowl of water and several objects and test their predictions....
Exploratorium
Descartes' Diver
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...
Curated OER
Sink or Float Water Play Activity
Students experiment with different objects to see if they sink or float. They can also choose certain colored items if more review is necessary.
Curated OER
Float and Sink
For this float or sink worksheet, 8th graders solve 1 science/math puzzle about displacement of water; the answer is available online.
Curated OER
Sink or Float?
Young scholars make and test predictions about sinking and floating, and classify objects according to whether they sink or float.
Curated OER
Floating Fishes: Boat Sinking Lab
Cut milk cartons in half to make boats and let investigators attempt to sink them. They add dividing walls and observe what happens if marbles are put into only one of the newly formed compartments. Vocabulary is provided: buoyant force,...
Curated OER
Buoyancy: Integrating Science and Literature
Integrate science and literature by using the scientific method to test the veracity of the floating peach described in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Clips from a Bill Nye: The Science Guy episode about buoyancy frontload...
Curated OER
A Weighty Issue
Want to get your students motivated in science class? Given only a piece of aluminum foil, assign groups the task of designing a "barge" that will support the weight of a bunch of pennies. The group who is able to put the most...
Curated OER
Ships 2: What Floats Your Boat?
Young scholars design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The lesson focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.
University of Waikato
Buoyancy in Water
Change where an object floats in water. Pupils experiment with a Cartesian diver by squeezing on the side of a plastic bottle. Learners pay attention to the bulb of the pipette as the bottle is squeezed to determine what is happening...
Curated OER
Sinking and Floating
Students examine why some objects float or sink. In this physics lesson, students engage in several mini-experiments which challenge them to draw their own conclusions regarding why certain objects sink or float. An example of one...
American Chemical Society
Temperature Affects Density
Different substances can have different densities, but can the same substance have different densities? Lesson explores the effect of temperature on the density of water. Extension idea connects the concept of how melting ice in lakes...
Curated OER
Stacking Water
Students experiment with different salinities of water using straws and different colors of water. They collect and interpret data from the experiment.
Cornell University
Buoyancy
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...