Have your class explore density and buoyancy using this resource. Learners read the book Who Sank the Boat, and use several items, such as rubber balls, bottle caps, wood, and other household items to conduct an experiment. Using a tub...

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.

Students will determine whether various objects sink or float in water. They do not need to explain why objects sink or float. They are rather to be encouraged to observe that the same objects will sink or float every time, i.e., that...

Students explore sinking and floating.  For this buoyancy lesson, students conduct an investigation dealing with regular and diet soda. Students drop various soda cans into water and then discuss why some float and some...

Where does all of the carbon dioxide come from that is supposedly leading to climate change? Earth science pupils test animal, plant, and fossil fuels as sources in this investigation. Using an indicator, BTB, they are able to detect the...

Students predict whether objects will sink or float in water. They classify objects as sinking or floating in water. Students identify and explain similarities between objects that sink and float.

Students observe and classify objects that float or sink.

Students explore the concepts of float and sink by playing a game where they build things on mud, water, rock and jelly. In this Anthony's sink or float game lesson, students discover what materials remain strong in various conditions....

Second graders discuss why some objects float while others sink. They examine various objects and predict whether or not they will sink or float. Students discover the properties needed for objects to float.

Students have seen that solids, which are more dense than a liquid, that sinks in that liquid and solids, which are less dense than a liquid, that floats on that liquid. They use a metal boat to float in water. Pupils comprehend that...

Students participate in an experiment to determine which objects float or sink. They use different amounts of salt for the objects and discover as the salt content increases, objects will float. They record their predictions and what...

A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this lesson on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...

Young scholars use their background knowledge of how scientists work to discuss and predict if a given object will sink or float. They record their predictions on a data sheet. Students test the objects and organize them into floating...

Students explore physics by conducting a class experiment. In this density instructional activity, students examine a list of items and discuss whether they will sink or float and then determine their density. Students examine the...

Students consider density and how it affects sinking and floating. Students make predictions, test liquids, and observe why some liquids sink and others float. They perform experiments to determine relational causality and how liquids...

Investigators construct a makeshift balance and compare equal volumes of wax and water. They do the same for clay and water. Then they discover whether the wax and clay will float or sink in water. Ultimately this is a comparison of...

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...

A dripping faucet may be enough to drive you crazy, but it also teaches you a little about ratios. Presented with the volume of a sink and the rate the water is dripping, scholars must devise a plant to determine how long it will take...

Begin with an introduction to famous deep-sea submersibles. Learners work in groups to gather information on different vessels and then share with the class. Each group then uses water displacement to help calculate the density of...

Students watch the teacher do a demonstration of density with diet and regular soda. Note: try this first, as different types of artificial sweetener have different densities. Students discuss density and volume. They discuss "Relational...

Groups of young oceanographers get to use action figures to experiment with the property of buoyancy! This memorable lesson plan provides detailed background information, a link to the laboratory worksheet, and thorough instruction...

Students perform simple and fun experiments to use the scientific method, take careful notes, and write a lab report. They first make and test a hypothesis about how many drops of water they can fit on the face of a penny and then test...

Fifth graders experiment with student-made aluminum boats to test for buoyancy. They design a boat and determine how many marbles it takes to sink it while recording their data in a spreadsheet. They design a graph using the data and...

Students participate in several density lab activities in order to clarify the misconceptions that solids sink and liquids float. Students work with triple beam balances to find mass of objects to calculate density.