Sand Castle Saturation

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In this activity about saturation (page 1 of PDF under SciGirls Activity: Sand Dunes), learners will build a series of sand castle towers using a 16 oz cup. Learners begin with completely dry sand and then add a ¼ cup of water to the sand for each successive tower, each time measuring the height and width of the resulting sand mound until they make a tower that maintains the shape of the cup. Relates to the linked video, DragonflyTV: Sand Dunes.

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
45 to 60 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$5 - $10 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 8 - 14
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per group of students)

  • dry playground sand
  • several sixteen ounce plastic cups
  • mixing bowl
  • water
  • 1/4 cup measuring cup
  • ruler
  • trays

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Earth Structure
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Oceans and Water
  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
      • Civil Engineering
      • Metallurgy and Materials Engineering
    • Technology
      • Construction
  • Mathematics
    • Data Analysis and Probability
      • Data Collection
    • Measurement
  • Physical Sciences
    • States of Matter
      • Solids
      • Liquids
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations
      • Gathering Data
      • Formulating Explanations
      • Communicating Results
  • The Nature of Technology
    • The Design Process
      • Problem Solving
      • Troubleshooting and Maintenance

Informal Categories

  • Model Building

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves teamwork and communication skills
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Culture, ethnicity, and gender

  • Girls

    • Explicity developed for this group
    • Highlights STEM opportunities for this group
    • Identifies role models or mentors in STEM fields from this group
    • Uses inclusive images of people from this group

Other

Components that are part of this resource:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • DragonflyTV

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Twin Cities Public Television, Inc., 2005

Funding Source:

  • National Science Foundation, 436260