Lesson Plan
Curated OER

More Than Meets the Eye

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use the Archimedes method to demonstrate scientific principles behind observations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Float Your Boat

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate buoyancy, displacement and density.  In this flotation lesson students study the Archimedes' Principle, analyze data and draw conclusions. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bathtub Physics - Density, Buoyancy and Flotation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study Archimedes' Principle, flotation and the reaction of buoyant forces and explain the relationship between density and flotation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buoyant Force

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students illustrate Archimedes' Principle of Buoyant Force. In this graphing lesson, students will observe that the buoyant force on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces. Students will then create a graph showing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density-Qualitative and Quantitative

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students investigate density using film canisters filled with different density materials and larger objects of varying density. In this density lesson plan, students discuss the concept of density and rank film containers from dense to...
Lesson Plan
National Sailing Hall of Fame

How a Sailboat Works: Hull Speed and Buoyancy

For Teachers 7th - 12th
How can you determine the maximum speed of a sailboat? A sailing presentation included with a straightforward lesson plan prompts learners to calculate the maximum speed of a sailboat with a displacement hull. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ice Floats

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the changing density of water. In this physics instructional activity, students investigate how an object's density determines whether it will float or sink in water. They explain why this unique property of is important...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Buoyancy

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...
Lesson Plan
University of Southern California

Design and Test an Air Lift Siphon

For Students 6th - 12th
Build an air lift siphon using your mad physics skills! Learners first investigate the importance of circulating water in aquaponics systems. They then use density to their advantage as they engineer an air lift siphon
Lesson Plan
Florida International University

Simulating Microgravity with Buoyancy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
How do astronauts know how to live and work in a weightless environment? It doesn't come naturally! Junior physicists conduct experiments to examine the link between buoyancy and microgravity. Each activity illustrates a different aspect...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I've Got That Sinking Feeling

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students design a simple boat and predict how much weight it can carry. They should also discover why objects float or sink and how this can be determined experimentally. A great lesson on buoyancy!
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density Challenge

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students calculate the densities of several liquids that appear similar.  In this physical science instructional activity, students go beyond understanding the way liquids of different densities behave to researching how this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buoyant Boats

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students design and construct a boat out of aluminum foil and a few other simple materials. The boats then be tested by floating them in water, then adding mass until they sink. They explore the various shapes of boat construction.
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Big Meltdown

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore the world (our world) of melting ice caps. Why are these caps melting? What is the effect of melting ice caps? Dive into the ever-present issue of global warming with a resource that has learners looking at data and participating...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dive In

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study how buoyancy, pressure, and light can effect the work of underwater scientists.  In this marine science lesson students complete a lab that allows them to better understand how pressure varies with altitude and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density in Relation to Float and Sink

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the concept of density. For this density lesson, students determine the density of various objects. Students use the density of the various objects to predict the density of various unknown solutions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Helium Balloon Race

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students determine the force of a helium balloon that allows it to rise a specific distance.  In this helium lesson students calculate the amount of paper needed to construct a weight and determine the density of a piece of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inventions 2: The Impact

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students research inventors and inventions and their impacts. In this invention lesson, students research inventions and their affects in good and bad ways.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buoyant Force

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students investigate the scientific concept of why some objects float when put in a liquid solution. They apply the laws of motion and force while conducting classroom activities. Students also take notes and answer target questions to...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Archimedes' Principle, Pascal's Law and Bernoulli's Principle

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners are introduced to Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle, and Bernoulli's principle through problems and engineering applications.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: What Floats Your Boat?

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners use modeling clay, a material that is denser than water and thus ordinarily sinks in water, to discover the principle of buoyancy. They begin by designing and building boats out of clay that will float in water, and then refine...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Buoyancy, Density, and Fluid Principles: Make Mini Submarine

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lab, students will use the scientific method to design an experiment that explains how/why a submarine floats and sinks.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Buoyant Force

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this Physics lab, students learn about Archimedes' Principle. An object is submerged in water and vegetable oil and the buoyant force and height are measured at different levels. The slope of the graph Buoyant Force vs. Height is the...
Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: 6.g Computing Volume Progression 4

For Teachers 6th Standards
The purpose of this fourth task in a series of four is to find the volume of an irregular 3D solid by using Archimedes' Principle. Students must calculate the volume of the displaced water in a rectangular prism tank in order to solve...

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