Learners will shout "Eureka!" in this quick but deep activity replicating the famous bathtub experiment of Archimedes. Given the scenario of a king with a suspected fake crown, young investigators develop formulas using density to...

The arctic seas contain currents that are both warm (with high salinity) and cold (relatively fresh water) that circulate throughout the year. Through discussion, a lab, and a web quest, participants explore the impacts of melting and...

Snow, ice, and water are all composed of H2O. Does that mean they all have the same volume? Discover the ways that the densities of these substances determine their volumes, and how they change based on their current states of...

Use this art lesson to study insolubility and density. Combining water-based paint and mineral oil will cause a fun and interactive painting. This is a great art project to incorporate during a science unit.

Change where an object floats in water. Pupils experiment with a Cartesian diver by squeezing on the side of a plastic bottle. Learners pay attention to the bulb of the pipette as the bottle is squeezed to determine what is happening...

Students determine the density of a material created in the laboratory and observe physical and chemical changes. They engage in a lab activity, and answer questions on a worksheet imbedded in this plan.

In this density learning exercise, high schoolers answer 16 questions related to density. They read diagrams of graduated cylinders and determine the liquid's mass, volume and density. They find the density of objects and answer 3...

Students use a balance and weigh a rock sample. They weigh the rock suspended on a sling in a glass of water. They tabulate the rock's density using the two weights and compare the density of various rocks of similar sizes.

Young scholars draw upon their prior knowledge of the density of water and practice writing a hypothesis, making an observation, and analyzing data while watching a density demonstration.

Seventh graders discover the definition of density through a demonstration using ethanol and ice cubes and a class discussion using a SMART Board to illustrate formulas and calculations. Students finish the lesson by practicing...

What do we do when a dive is too dangerous for humans to accomplish? Send in the robots! Middle school scientists get acquainted with several different models of submersible robots in the second instructional activity of six from NOAA....

Young scholars role play as paleontologists who make inferences about the weight of dinosaurs. They use models and the density of water to make these inferences.

Quiz your learners on density, mass, and volume with six equations. Each equation prompts kids to consider an object made of a different material, and to find the desired measurement.

How do temperature changes affect ocean currents? Scholars explore convection currents by demonstrating the flow of water in a baking dish. They use ice, heat, and food coloring to see currents. Then, they draw conclusions about their...

Salinity is the focus of two experimenters that work to answer the question, How does salt change the physical properties of water? Super scientists compare the freezing rate of salt and fresh water, combine the two waters to...

How fast does water cool? First fifth graders will draw a line on a graph that predicts how fast they think water can cool from boiling. Then they plot the actual data on the same graph to see if their estimate was correct.

Students explore the changing density of water. For this physics lesson, 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 to living things.

Create a cushion of carbon dioxide gas to float some soap bubbles on. Many concepts can be demonstrated through this activity: Carbon dioxide gas is more dense than air Bubbles are semipermeable, allowing only carbon dioxide to diffuse...

Should gray wolves be removed from Yellowstone National Park? After researching the complex relationships between the various habitats and species at Yellowstone National Park,  including humans, class members take a position...

Learners examine how salt water is more dense than fresh water through experimentation with eggs.

Students investigate the states of matter. In this physics instructional activity, students use water and ice to demonstrate the characteristics of a solid and liquid. Students record their observations as the state of the water changes.

Students explore the states of matter. In this physical science lesson, students observe what happens to water when it freezes and record observations. Students then observe ice when it melts and record observations.

Investigating the large numbers of science is the task in a simple but deep activity. Given a one-sentence problem set-up and some basic assumptions, the class sets off on an open-ended investigation that really gives some...

Note that this lesson plan is best paired with the preceding lesson plan in the unit. In that lesson plan, elementary physical scientists observed that the color coating of M&Ms® candies do not mix when dissolved off of the chocolate...