Science Is Fun: Sinking and Floating Soda Cans

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...

Keep your class afloat with a hands-on density lesson. The challenging lesson has learners experiment with different materials to compare their densities. They learn that increasing or decreasing the amount of the material doesn't change...

We don't think of liquids as floating typically, but a quick look at any oil spill tells a different story. Lesson explores various densities of liquids and why this fact is important. After observing the density variation, scholars...

Young scholars recognize that density determines whether objects sink or float.  In this sink or float lesson, students experiment with plastic in three liquids. young scholars drop their objects into the liquids and observe and...

I'm sure you've heard that there are something like 20 tablespoons of sugar in a can of regular soda. It seems unbelievable, doesn't it? This demonstration really does show how much sugar is present in a can of soda. First, Spangler...

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...

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....

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...

Introduce your class to the concept of sinking and floating. In groups, they classify objects after making predictions about which materials will sink or float. They record their results and create graphs and charts to share with the class.

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.