Boat DesignsbyBeverly Harris |
Fifth graders are studying density, mass, matter, volume, and buoyancy. Students created two 10 cm x 14 cm foil boats, placed them in the sea (a tub of water), placed cargo (paper clips) in the boat to see how much mass the boat could hold before it sank. Before they began, they made a hypothesis which is a prediction of the number of paper clips they believed their boat would hold. Most predictions were in the ten to twenty range. One boat held only 6 paper clips before going to its watery grave while another held 181 paper clips before it began taking on water through a tear in the side. Students discussed models and how their limitations. Students found the mass of the paper clips using a triple beam balance.
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Students participate in the Boat Float Lab |
