Will a grape float in oil? Will a metal nut sink in corn syrup? Watch as the ZOOM cast tests the buoyancy of a variety of liquids and objects.

Students learn that buoyancy is responsible for making boats, hot air balloons and weather balloons float. They calculate whether or not a boat or balloon will float, and calculate the volume needed to make a balloon or boat of a certain mass float. Conduct the first day of the associated activity before conducting this lesson.

Students explore material properties in hands-on and visually evident ways via the Archimedes' principle. First, they design and conduct an experiment to calculate densities of various materials and present their findings to the class. Using this information, they identify an unknown material based on its density. Then, groups explore buoyant forces. They measure displacement needed for various materials to float on water and construct the equation for buoyancy. Using this equation, they calculate the numerical solution for a boat hull using given design parameters.

Students are introduced to the important concept of density with a focus is on the more easily understood densities of solids. Students use different methods to determine the densities of solid objects, including water displacement to determine volumes of irregularly-shaped objects. By comparing densities of various solids to the density of water, and by considering the behavior of different solids when placed in water, students conclude that ordinarily, objects with densities greater than water sink, while those with densities less than water float. Then they explore the principle of buoyancy, and through further experimentation arrive at Archimedes' principle that a floating object displaces a mass of water equal to its own mass. Students may be surprised to discover that a floating object displaces more water than a sinking object of the same volume.

This lesson introduces students to the important concept of density. The focus is on the more easily understood densities of solids, but students can also explore the densities of liquids and gases. Students devise methods to determine the densities of solid objects, including the method of water displacement to determine volumes of irregularly-shaped objects. By comparing densities of various solids to the density of water, and by considering the behavior of different solids when placed in water, students conclude that ordinarily, objects with densities greater than water will sink, while those with densities less than water will float. Density is an important material property for engineers to understand.

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 lighter fluid. In both cases, they see and record beautiful fluid motion. Activities are also suitable as class demonstrations. The natural beauty of fluid flow opens the door to seeing the beauty of physics in general.

After investigating density, displacement, and buoyancy in hands-on experiments, students take on the role of designers to create boats for We B Toys. Students create brochures or multimedia slideshows to persuade We B Toys to consider their boat designs for a new line of toy boats.

This unit plan was originally developed by the Intel® Teach program as an exemplary unit plan demonstrating some of the best attributes of teaching with technology.

This class provides students with an introduction to principal concepts and methods of fluid mechanics. Topics covered in the course include pressure, hydrostatics, and buoyancy; open systems and control volume analysis; mass conservation and momentum conservation for moving fluids; viscous fluid flows, flow through pipes; dimensional analysis; boundary layers, and lift and drag on objects. Students will work to formulate the models necessary to study, analyze, and design fluid systems through the application of these concepts, and to develop the problem-solving skills essential to good engineering practice of fluid mechanics in practical applications.

Do you want to know more about atmospheric science? This course is designed to give both Meteorology and non-Meteorology students a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric science and the quantitative analytical tools to apply atmospheric science to their own disciplines. Students are introduced to fundamental concepts and applications of atmospheric thermodynamics, radiative transfer, atmospheric chemistry, cloud microphysics, atmospheric dynamics, and the atmospheric boundary layer. These topics are covered broadly but in enough depth to introduce students to the methods atmospheric scientists use to describe and predict atmospheric phenomena. The course is designed to be taken by sophomore meteorology students as well as by students in related disciplines who have an adequate mathematical and physical background.

With this submission, students would use the underwater/waterproof capabilities of the camera to conduct studies and observations of the scientific properties and reactions of water.

The Hot Balloon game lets you control the altitude of the balloon through heating the balloon or releasing air from the air flaps. Hot air rises the balloon through a force called buoyancy. The difference between the outside and the inside air determines the amount of buoyancy. Using weight difference, wind speeds and limited fuel the balloon can go on the farthest rides.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, contains content knowledge and instructional resources about icebergs and glaciers and the scientific principles of density and buoyancy.

This resource will primarily be used prior to going to outdoor school for a 5th grade class. Though some of the resources might seem like a stretch for that age range it allows for some differentiation for those students that are looking to expand their knowledge base. In addition, this journal covers some basic rules and guidelines for living within a group of people which is why we include some dining etiquette.

This lab activity allows students to apply their knowledge of Archimedes' Principle by calculating the maximum buoyant force that a ship can produce.

This activity is a lab where students design an experiment to construct a self-powered mini-submarine that stays underwater for at least 10 seconds, and then float back up to the top of the water level. Buoyancy and density are applied and discussed.

This activity is an inquiry investigation where students gather data on why the Cartesian diver sinks or floats. They then develop a new question and then conduct a new investigation by changing one variable and repeat the altered experiment and record their conclusions.

Helium and hot-air balloons float in air, but how? Is floating a type of flying?

From drinking fountains at playgrounds, water systems in homes, and working bathrooms at schools to hydraulic bridges and levee systems, fluid mechanics are an essential part of daily life. Fluid mechanics, the study of how forces are applied to fluids, is outlined in this unit as a sequence of two lessons and three corresponding activities. The first lesson provides a basic introduction to Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle and Bernoulli's principle and presents fundamental definitions, equations and problems to solve with students, as well as engineering applications. The second lesson provides a basic introduction to above-ground storage tanks, their pervasive use in the Houston Ship Channel, and different types of storage tank failure in major storms and hurricanes. The unit concludes with students applying what they have learned to determine the stability of individual above-ground storage tanks given specific storm conditions so they can analyze their stability in changing storm conditions, followed by a project to design their own storage tanks to address the issues of uplift, displacement and buckling in storm conditions.

Students are presented with a challenge question that they must answer with scientific and mathematical reasoning. The challenge question is: "You have a large rock on a boat that is floating in a pond. You throw the rock overboard and it sinks to the bottom of the pond. Does the water level in the pond rise, drop or remain the same?" Students observe Archimedes' principle in action in this model recreation of the challenge question when a toy boat is placed in a container of water and a rock is placed on the floating boat. Students use terminology learned in the classroom as well as critical thinking skills to derive equations needed to answer this question.

This is in class lab activity where students will explore the buoyant force.