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...

Want to get your students motivated in science class? Given only a piece of aluminum foil, assign groups the task of designing a "barge" that will support the weight of a bunch of pennies.  The group who is able to put the most...

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.

Learners answer questions about the Titanic, then read a news article about possible causes of the disaster. For this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and vocabulary activity, then students read...

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...

Learners investigate the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 before writing a newspaper page that includes facts about the event. They role play as reporters, editors, and survivors of the disaster while writing and designing a front page...

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...

Remember the Lusitania! As part of their study of the causes of World War I, class members examine newspaper articles and propaganda posters about the sinking of the Lusitania and then craft their own news story about the event.

Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...

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...