Designing and Floating Boats

Steal cubes sink, but steal ships float. Lesson explores the density of solids as well as the density of water in determining what will sink and what will float. A hands-on group activity helps pupils see that weight and volume are...

Experiment with mass and density as scholars figure out what makes things float or sink. First, they watch a podcast introducing these concepts. Be sure to use the comprehension question to test their understanding. Young scientists...

In this float or sink activity, 8th graders solve 1 science/math puzzle about displacement of water; the answer is available online.

Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...

In this experiment, you test whether two different bowling balls will float or sink, then determine the density of each of the balls to see if they are less than that of water.

Written to introduce pupils to buoyancy, this activity has collaborative groups work to design a floatable clay boat. They first observe that a stick of clay sinks in water and then are given their own stick to reshape into a floating...

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.

Eureka! Using the clay boats made in the previous lesson, learners investigate the idea of buoyancy and water displacement to finish the last installment of five in a Floaters and Sinkers unit. Their observations during the activity...

Don't be dense—use a robust resource. The second installment of a five-part Floaters and Sinkers unit has learners determine the densities of several objects. As part of the activity, they learn the displacement method for finding...