About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 5
- Subjects
- science (general)
- Provider
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Legal
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In this lesson, students design and construct a boat out of aluminum foil and a few other simple materials. The boats will then be tested by floating them in a pool or sink of water, and then adding mass until they sink. Students will begin to understand the scientific laws required for the design of the boat, i.e. buoyancy and Archimedes Principle. They will also explore the shapes of boats and construction techniques that may work for the boats. Science NetLinks provides student handouts, links to helpful web resources, and detailed instructions for completing the lesson.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Science (2005)
Grade 5
- Goal 4: The learner will conduct investigations and use appropriate technologies to build an understanding of forces and motion in technological designs.
- Objective 4.06: Build and use a model to solve a mechanical design problem.
- Devise a test for the model.
- Evaluate the results of test.
- Objective 4.07: Determine how people use simple machines to solve problems.
- Objective 4.06: Build and use a model to solve a mechanical design problem.
