Aluminum Boats

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Test the buoyancy of an aluminum foil boat and an aluminum foil ball. Why does the same material in different shapes sink or float? This activity explores the fact that the amount of water pushed aside by an object equals the force of water pushing upward on the object. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org. Activity write-up only, images are unavailable.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Learning Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per student
Age Range:
Ages 4 - 11
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • Small bucket or large bowl
  • Water
  • 20 coins of the same weight (e.g. pennies, 2p pieces, etc.)
  • Scissors
  • Aluminum foil
  • Ruler

Keywords

Subjects

  • Physical Sciences
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Mass and Weight
      • Volume and Density

Informal Categories

  • Transportation

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • TryScience

Rights: