Investigate objects that float and sink in water.

Why do hot air balloons float? This resource from the NOVA Web site offers a series of interactive activities that illustrates the physics of hot air balloons.

From a chapter on Fluid Statics in a Physics textbook. This section of the chapter provides a detailed discussion of Archimedes' principle, buoyant force, floating and sinking, and the role of density. Includes questions, problems and...

Have you ever wondered how a ship made of steel can float? In this project you'll investigate how much weight boat hulls of various shapes and sizes can support without sinking.

Predict and test everyday objects as to whether they sink or float.

Learners determine whether an object will sink or float by comparing its density to the density of water.

In this activity, students will investigate whether the temperature of water affects its density. Students will place colored hot and cold water in a cup of room-temperature water to see that cold water sinks while hot water floats. Then...

The tradebook, Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen, is an excellent tool in teaching measurement. Students will engage in activities involving different types of measurement. In the story, five animal friends decide to take a boat ride....

This lesson plan is designed to have young children explore the concept of sinking vs. floating by using the skills of prediction, observation and classification.

In this activity, students use tea light candle holders and a student-made balance to compare the weight of equal volumes of wax, water, and clay. Students will discover that since the wax weighs less than an equal volume of water, it is...

Ever wonder why/how things float? This concept is called buoyancy. Take this interactive journey to learn and understand how and why certain materials float and others sink to the ocean floor.

Each student uses a small quantity of modeling clay to make a boat that will float in a tub of water. The object is to build a boat that will hold as much weight as possible without sinking. In the process of designing and testing their...

Investigate the mystery of the sinking of the Confederate submarine Hunley. Explore the mechanics of waterproofing a seal, and compare and contrast the effectiveness of a metal-to-metal seal versus one that uses a rubber gasket.

In this activity, students see that a can of regular cola sinks while a can of diet cola floats. As a demonstration, bubble wrap is taped to the can of regular cola to make it float. This high-volume but light-weight material increases...

In this activity, students will see that a carrot slice sinks in fresh water and floats in saltwater. Considering the placement of the carrot slice in water and salt water, students will infer that the density of salt water must be...

Do heavy things always sink and light things always float? In this introductory demonstration and activity, students are introduced to the concept of density as they explore a rock and a wooden block in water.