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Descartes' Diver ActivityDescartes' Diver Activity
Publisher
Exploratorium
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
6th - 8th
Subjects
Science
3 more...
Resource Type
Activities & Projects
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
10 mins
Instructional Strategies
Demonstration
1 more...
Technology
Scientific Equipment
Activity

Descartes' Diver

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

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 actually designed it! Nevertheless, it is fun to make and shows how pressure is distributed throughout the entire fluid. Use it in a physical science or oceanography unit.

68 Views 48 Downloads

Concepts

water displacement, water, water pressure, archimedes' principle, buoyancy

Additional Tags

water pressure, buoyancy, archimedes' principle, water displacement, science

Pros

  • An alluring activity that exhibits several physical science principles
  • Offers an age-appropriate explanation of concepts

Cons

  • None

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