DiscoverE
Design a Flotation Device
Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!
Curated OER
Properties of Matter
Students describe four states of matter and their characteristics, explain thermal expansion of matter, interpret state changes in terms of kinetic theory of matter, explain relationship between temperature and volume of a gas, state...
Curated OER
Transportation with Lewis and Clark
Students listen to a PowerPoint presentation and complete a Venn diagram comparing the methods of transportation in the early 1800s with today's transportation. They experiment with the buoyancy of keelboats.
Curated OER
Galapagos Rift Expedition Come On Down!
Students research the development and implementation of a research vessel/vehicle used for deep ocean exploration. In this oceanography lesson, students calculate the density of objects by determining the mass and volume.
Curated OER
Clay Boats
Seventh graders are given the opportunity to use model-building as a way to help comprehend the forces and phenomena at work in the world around them. They use both successful and unsuccessful models to make inferences, refine...
Curated OER
The Weight of Water
Students examine how salt water is more dense than fresh water. They discuss how manatees need to float and sink, conduct a sink or float experiment, and conduct an experiment with eggs and salt and fresh water.
Curated OER
Buoyant Force
Students illustrate Archimedes' Principle of Buoyant Force. In this graphing activity, 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...
Curated OER
Fishy Physics
Students explore how fish are able to move easily from one depth to another in water. In this fish lesson students create their own balloon fish.
Curated OER
Water and Ice
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.
Curated OER
Investigating the Effect of Salinity on the Density and Stability of Water
Water with varying amounts of dissolved salt are dyed and then used to compare densities. The objective is to discover the effect of salinity, and therefore density, on ocean water on the stability of the ocean. Many branches of science...
Curated OER
The Impact of Invention
Students explore the impact of invention. In this invention lesson, students examine how inventions are on going and affect all aspects of life in both good and bad ways. Students will research the history of invention, become an...
Curated OER
Inventions 2: The Impact
Students research inventors and inventions and their impacts. In this invention lesson, students research inventions and their affects in good and bad ways.
Curated OER
Water Density and Stability Lab
Students observe how different water densities and salinity control the depth at which different water masses occur. Submarines are used as a case study. This is a well-designed with an excellent worksheet.
Curated OER
Volumw Measurement, English System
Eighth graders biew each volume container and discuss where they have seen them in their home, and how they have seen them used. They explore the different names of volume sizes and their equivalents towards one another. Students...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Buoyancy Brainteasers: Buoyancy Question
This interactive brainteaser from the NOVA: "Voyage of Doom" Web site challenges you to figure out what causes an object to sink.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Balloons & Buoyancy
Experiment with a helium balloon, a hot air balloon, or a rigid sphere filled with different gases. Discover what makes some balloons float and others sink.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Mn Step: Sinking Water: Glaciers, Ocean Currents and Weather Patterns
A lesson where students learn how warm water is less dense than cold water, and what this means for global climate change as ice from the polar regions melts. Students will do experiments in buoyancy and water density when hot or cold,...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Sink or Float
Predict and test everyday objects as to whether they sink or float.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Balloons & Buoyancy
Students studying buoyancy will better understand its concepts with this virtual experiment using various balloons and testing what makes them float or sink.
PBS
Pbs: Buoyancy Basics
NOVA explores the basic principle of buoyancy. Also included at this site are some interesting brain-teasers related to the topic.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: "Does It Float?" an Inquiry Based Activity Investigating Buoyancy
This is an inquiry-based activity in which students will need to work together as a class to solve the following problem: they must construct a "boat" entirely out of modeling clay that is capable of supporting 150 grams of cargo without...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Floating and Falling Flows
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...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Buoyancy, Density, and Fluid Principles: Make Mini Submarine
In this lab, students will use the scientific method to design an experiment that explains how/why a submarine floats and sinks.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Floats Your Boat?
Students 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...