Five-Layer Density Column

In this activity, learners can create five-layer density columns by employing one of three (or all) methods. Method 1 gives the names of the liquids and the order for adding them, and its goal is to directly construct the density column without any experimentation. Method 2 assumes names and densities of the five materials to be unknown, and involves open-ended experimenting, with few instructions, to construct the column. Method 3 also assumes names and densities of the materials to be unknown, and outlines a systematic way to approach the experimentation involved in constructing the column. Learners complete data tables and analyze the densities of the substances.