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Changing the Density of a Liquid: Adding Salt
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Learners see that a carrot slice sinks in fresh water and floats in saltwater.

Comparing the Density of an Object to the Density of Water
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Learners compare the weight of equal volumes of wax, water, and clay. Learners discover that since the wax weighs less than an equal volume of water, it is less dense than water and will float.

Fragile Waters
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In this activity (on pages 18-29) learners explore the impact of the March 24, 1989 oil spill in Alaska caused by the Exxon Valdez tanker.

Defining Density
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In this introductory demonstration and activity, learners are introduced to the concept of density as they explore a rock and a wooden block in water.

Changing the Density of an Object: Changing Shape
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Learners will see that changing the shape of an object, like a clay ball, that is more dense than water, can affect whether the object will sink or float.

Density Intensity
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In this activity on page 12 of the PDF (Rethinking the 3 R’s: It’s Easy to be Green), learners examine how recyclable materials are separated by various properties at recycling centers.
Floating Paperclip and Other Surface Tension Experiments
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In this activity, learners experiment with surface tension using everyday household items such as strawberry baskets, paperclips, liquid dish soap, and pepper.

Density Rainbow
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In this activity, learners mix several sugar solutions to investigate the property of density. Each sugar solution has a different density and color of the rainbow.

Weighty Questions
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In this activity about humans and space travel (page 1 of PDF), learners compare and contrast the behavior of a water-filled plastic bag, both outside and inside of a container of water.

Using Color to See How Liquids Combine
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Learners add different liquids (water, salt water, alcohol, and detergent solution) to water and observe the different ways the different liquids combine with water.

Dissolving Different Liquids in Water
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In this activity, learners add different liquids to water and apply their working definition of “dissolving” to their observations.

Density Rainbow and the Great Viscosity Race
Learners conduct two activities to investigate two properties of liquids: density and viscosity. In a clear container, learners stack 7 different liquids which will layer according to their density.

Trash Traits
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In this activity on page 24, learners perform experiments to examine whether or not trash can float, blow around, or wash away.

Dancing Spaghetti
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In this chemistry activity, learners use spaghetti to explore density and chemical reactions.

Below the Surface: Surface Tension II
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In this activity learners explore surface tension. Why are certain objects able to float on the surface of water and how do detergents break the surface tension of water?

Boats Afloat
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In this activity, learners discover what buoyancy is and determine the characteristics that make an object buoyant. Learners design, build, test, and evaluate boats made from a variety of materials.

Changing the Density of an Object: Adding Material
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Learners see that a can of regular cola sinks while a can of diet cola floats. As a demonstration, bubble wrap is taped to the can of regular cola to make it float.

Milk Carton Boats
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This activity (on page 2 of the PDF SciGirls Activity: Milk Carton Boat) is a full inquiry investigation into boat hull design.
Build A Hydrometer
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In this activity, learners will explore how a hydrometer works by building a working model and conducting experiments.

Color Splash
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In this activity, learners mix water, cooking oil, and liquid food coloring to create beautiful colored designs in a cup. Use this activity to explore liquid density and solubility.