A Cartesian Diver—Classic Chemistry Experiments

Have your class learn about buoyancy using this simple lesson. First, they bring in condiment packets and see what happens when they place it in a glass of water. Then, they use one of the packets to illustrate the concept of a Cartesian...

Will your next buoyancy lab rise to the occasion? Make a splash with action figure divers! Teams of young physicists explore the relationship between mass and buoyancy by adding weights or balloons to achieve a diver that neither sinks...

Amaze your scholars with an activity that uses a Cartesian diver to demonstrate Pascal's Law, Archimedes' Principle, and the Ideal Gas Law. Groups then repeat the process and make their own diver move up and down in a bottle.

Students observe Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle, and the ideal gas law as a Cartesian diver moves within a closed system.

Using the Cartesian coordinate system, future flight experts plot points to determine whether or not an airplane will fly. With the four forces of weight, lift, drag, and thrust represented in different quadrants, your physics learners...

This site presents a procedure for creating a cartesian diver, a miniature submarine which rises or sinks depending upon the water pressure within a closed bottle. The site also introduces basic concepts of water and air pressure.

Students learn about coordinate systems in general by considering questions concerning what it is that the systems are expected do, and who decided how they look. They attempt to make their own coordinate systems using a common area...

In this lab, students will have to build a Cartesian diver to bring to class to race. I do this as an introduction to the gas laws, specifically Boyle's Law which deals with volume and pressure of gas at the same temperature. The...

This PBS site shows users how they can make their own cartesian divers, discover how it works, and have some fun at the same time.

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...