Flinker

Add to list Go to activity
In this activity, learners make a foam packing peanut "flink"--neither float away nor sink--in water. Learners experiment with materials to make a Flinker that "flinks" for 10 seconds. Use this activity to introduce physics concepts related to gravity and buoyancy. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 11
Resource Types:
Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity
Language:
English, Spanish

Materials List (per student)

  • foam packing peanuts
  • paper clips
  • clear container that will hold water (like a soda bottle with the top cut off)

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
  • Physical Sciences
    • Motion and Forces
      • Gravity
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Mass and Weight
      • Volume and Density
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Asking Questions
      • Conducting Investigations

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Foreign language versions of this resource:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, WGBH Educational Foundation, 2002

Funding Sources:

  • National Science Foundation, 0229796
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
  • PBS