Students investigate the states of matter. In this physics lesson, 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 use the Scientific Method steps to complete an experiment on various brands of soap to determine their floating capabilities. In this scientific method lesson, students write a hypothesis about the ability of various soap bars...

Clay's as good a material as any to build a boat, right? An introductory lesson sets the stage for two activities associated with buoyancy. The first involves building boats out of clay, while the second uses these boats to measure the...

Enhance your states of matter lessons with a hands-on science investigation that compares six different balls' color, texture, size, weight, ability to bounce, and buoyancy. 

In this sixth of seven activities revolving around the concept of density, physical science fans figure out if anything can be done to change the density of an object. Demonstrate by placing a can of regular and a can of diet soda into a...

Continuing with the concept of volume and its effect on density, learners now work with a piece of clay to see if they can get it to float in water. This is a memorable end to a seven-part investigation of density. Make sure to check out...

Fourth in a set of several little lessons on density, this one compares the density of fresh and salt water. First by demonstration, and then by a hands-on activity, learners find that adding salt increases the density, as is evidenced...

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 activity of six from NOAA. Lab groups then...

Pupils observe and experiment with the concept of density. This is done using a simple experiment that helps them to apply scientific principles of observation and proving a hypothesis.

Students write and explain why an object sinks or floats.  In this buoyancy lesson plan students demonstrate how items float or sink and graph the results. 

Students create a model boat. In this art lesson, students identify what makes a boat float and use milk cartons to create their own boat.

Students form hypotheses and carry out an investigation in order to answer a central question: Does soap float? The focus of this lesson is on scientific inquiry, but it incorporates scientific topics such as sinking and floating.

Students perform experiments to see if items will sink or float. In this sink or float lesson, students work in groups to make predictions, and record the results. After the experiments are complete students make a book of the results.

Students calculate the densities of several liquids that appear similar.  In this physical science lesson, students go beyond understanding the way liquids of different densities behave to researching how this knowledge applies in...

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...

Pupils 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 or...

Students observe experiments in density and describe the results. In the experiment, milk, corn syrup, and oil are added in different orders to three glasses, while one other glass contains only water. As objects are dropped into each...

Middle schoolers 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...

Ninth graders develop operational definition of density, do computations using density equation, categorize pieces of matter as being able to float on water or not, based on density, explain why some objects sink or float based on...

Students observe how different water densities control the depth at which different water masses occur. They explain one fact that they comprehend about salt water. Students comprehend that temperature and salinity affect the density...

Turn your pupils into engineers who are able to use scientific principals to design a ship. This long-term project expects pupils to understand concepts of density, buoyancy, displacement, and metacenter, and apply them to constructing a...

Students observe teacher demonstrations that illustrate density. In this density lesson, the teacher demonstrates how air bubbles in a carbonated drink can cause a raisin to float and how an egg sinks in fresh water, but floats in salt...

Students investigate Archimedes' Principle and show how it relates to density. In this Archimedes' Principle lesson plan, students experiment with a beaker of water, a Styrofoam "boat" and a weight. They predict what will happen when the...