Sink or float?
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?BenchmarkID=4&DocID=164
A lesson plan for Grade 1 Science
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 1
- Subjects
- science (physics and physical science)
- Provider
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Legal
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The purpose of this lesson is to make and test predictions about floating and sinking; to classify objects according to their buoyancy. In this activity students will be observing to determine whether various objects sink or float in water. Whether an object will sink or float in a liquid depends mainly on two factors: density and buoyancy. The ability of water to support an object is determined by the weight of the water the object displaces. At this level, students do not need to explain why objects sink or float. They are, rather, to be encouraged to observe that the same objects will sink or float every time, i.e., that there is consistency in the way that the objects behave. This consistency can help students devise their own ideas about physical properties and how they can be used to describe and categorize objects. Also, this activity provides practice in using a wide variety of objects and categorizing them according to their various observable properties.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Science (2005)
Grade 1
- Goal 3: The learner will make observations and conduct investigations to build an understanding of the properties and relationship of objects.
- Objective 3.03: Classify solids according to their properties:
- Color.
- Texture.
- Shape (ability to roll or stack).
- Ability to float or sink in water.
- Objective 3.03: Classify solids according to their properties:
