Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Science- Sink or Float?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners investigate which objects sink and which ones float. Learners engage in an experiment, make predictions, and record results on a graphic organizer. This is a comprehensive and easy to follow resource.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Will It Sink Or Float?

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Have your class predict whether objects will sink or float in water. Learners consider a data table of mass, volume and whether the object sank or floated. They develop an evidence-based explanation for the results.
Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Comparing the Density of an Object to the Density of Water

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floating Fishes: How do Fishes Control Buoyancy?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Playing with balloons, water, oil, and bottles help put this lesson over the top! Participants use air-filled balloons in water tanks to experience gas compression. They also use oil-filled bottles to experiment with buoyancy. Included...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Do Some Things Float?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students recognize that density determines whether objects sink or float.  In this sink or float instructional activity, students experiment with plastic in three liquids. students drop their objects into the liquids and observe and...
Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Floaters and Sinkers

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sink It

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Introduce your class to the concept of sinking and floating. In groups, they classify objects after making predictions about which materials will sink or float. They record their results and create graphs and charts to share with the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Grand Designs And Great Failures

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing of ships. students discover that most ships are constructed very similarly-whether they are schooners or destroyers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ships 3: Grand Designs And Great Failures

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students engage in this, the third in a three-part series on ships. The overall lesson series is designed to allow students to extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing...
Activity
It's About Time

Mass and Volume

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Don't be so dense that light bends around you; study the relationship between mass and volume instead. Young chemists measure the density of a variety of liquids and solids. A reading passage and analysis questions introduce pupils to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sink or Float?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students make and test predictions about sinking and floating, and classify objects according to whether they sink or float.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sink or Swim

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore sinking and floating.  In this buoyancy lesson plan, students conduct an investigation dealing with regular and diet soda. Students drop various soda cans into water and then discuss why some float and some...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to Float an Egg

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Use the scientific method to experiment with an egg. Your class can examine buoyancy and density by finding how many spoons of salt are needed to float an egg. They can predict, experiment, record data, and analyze results.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sink or Float

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders sort objects into those they think will float and those that will sink and test their predictions. They experiment with clay molding it into shapes that float. They place pennies in them until they sink. They test other...
Unit Plan
University of Southern Indiana

Manifest Density

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
There's a lot content packed into the four lessons of this physical science unit on density. From salad dressing to the water cycle and hot air balloons, these lessons engage students in hands-on activities that explore real-world...
Activity
University of Waikato

Temperature, Salinity and Water Density

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The difference between sinking and floating may be a little salt. Young experimenters analyze the effect of salt and temperature on the density of water. They use their results to predict the effect of climate change on ocean ecosystems.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Activity: Float a Clay Boat

For Teachers 4th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1st Grade - Act. 19: Will it Float?

For Teachers 1st
First graders drop items into water, and discuss why some things float and others sink.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sink or Float?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students predict and test different items to see if they sink or float. In this sink and float lesson plan, students predict whether an item is buoyant or not, and learn that size and weight do not matter when it comes to buoyancy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Note Taking And Skills And Lab Reports

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students perform simple and fun experiments to use the scientific method, take careful notes, and write a lab report. They first make and test a hypothesis about how many drops of water they can fit on the face of a penny and then test...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density

For Teachers 9th
Learners predict when an object will float or sink based on comparison of density of the object to the density of the substance in which it is placed. The access a website and sketch the object in the first column of their table and then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!

For Teachers 7th - 10th
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this lesson on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Do Certain Things Float, While Some Sink?

For Teachers 1st
First graders conduct an experiment. In this density lesson, 1st graders work in groups to test 10 different objects to see which ones sink and float. Students discuss why certain objects float and others do not.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floating and Falling Flows

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students discover fluid dynamics related to buoyancy through experimentation and optional photography. Using one set of fluids, they make light fluids rise through denser fluids. Using another set, they make dense fluids sink through a...