Don't just sink the boat. Using a closed container as a submarine, pupils experiment to see what to add to the container to make it float, sink to the bottom, and hover in the middle. After finding one option, learners see if they can find other ways to put the submarine in the same state.

Concepts

submarines, density, water density, buoyancy, buoyant force, gravity

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Test the methods found to make the submarine to hover in different types of water such as hotter water or salt water
• Research how submarines submerge and rise in the ocean

Classroom Considerations

• The small container used as a submarine should be water tight

Pros

• Contains a scientific explanation of negative, positive, and neutral buoyancy
• Includes a list of objects to place in the container to make it sink or hover in the water

Cons

• None