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...

Will it sink or will it float? Learners predict the outcome as they drop random objects into a container of water. Then, they keep track of the results and record the data in a t-chart to draw a final conclusion.

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...

An engating lesson plan relates mass and volume to better understand density. Young scientists explore and experiment with floating and sinking as well as density cubes. Then, they solve how to make a sinking item float.

What sunk the Sultana? Scholars become investigators to uncover the facts behind the 1865 sinking just after the end of the Civil War. Through group work, videos, and primary documents, they research and analyze why 1,800 men died....

Will your next buoyancy lab rise to the occasion? Make a splash with action figure divers! Teams of young physicists explore the relationship between mass and buoyancy by adding weights or balloons to achieve a diver that neither sinks...

One of the key objectives of Europe's Copernicus Earth program is to monitor the temperatures of the oceans and seas on Earth. Young scholars learn the effects of different heat capacities through two experiments. These experiments...

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...

What's with all the numbers on plastic products? Learners complete an in-depth analysis of the physical properties of the different plastic types. They connect the properties of the plastics to uses and test their observation skills by...

Turn a lesson on the coordinate plane into a class game of battleship with this fun math resource. Providing two coordinate grids and and places to fill in the ordered pairs that are guessed, this activity is a great way...

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...

Density comes to life as investigators place soda cans into containers of various liquids to find if they sink or float. They layer different density liquids, compare densities of different gases, and more. A total of six different...

How is it that water that falls as rain ends up coming out of the tap on our sinks? Learners trace water's journey and examine how along the way pollutants make their way into the water supply. They conduct experiments, use the Internet...

Some of the CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuels is removed from the atmosphere by natural sinks, such as the ocean. The fifth engaging lesson in the series of 21 examines the CO2 data from three very different locations. It then makes a...

How many pennies can an aluminum foil boat hold? That is the challenge in a collaborative activity designed to explore the concept of buoyancy. Learners use aluminum foil to build makeshift boats and test the weight they hold before...

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...

Let's go sailing! An instructive unit includes six lessons with multiple activities to teach scholars about density, center of gravity, buoyancy, and the Archimedes Principle. They can complete the final project of building a boat...

Explore the concept of density within states of matter—gases, liquids, and solids—through a group experiment in which young scientists test objects' texture, color, weight, size, and ability to sink or float.    

Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...

The slow curse of realization begins to sink in during the tenth lesson in a literary analysis unit on Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Ninth graders carefully read the selected lines for evidence of Oedipus' feelings during a turning point...

Meteorologists view an animated video by the Environmental Protection Agency to learn how the carbon cycle works, and then move into groups to analyze and graph actual data of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration from Hawaii's...

The carbon cycle isn't a bike which produces carbon and this lesson explains why. Through reading and discussion, groups of pupils create visual explanations of the four parts of the carbon dioxide oxygen cycle. Activities...

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...