In this lesson, students investigate how objects float or sink depending on their density and then investigate how changing the shape of an object can affect whether it floats or sinks.
Prepared hands-on materials, full year grade-specific curriculum, and personalized live professional development designed to support mastery of current state science standards.
Floating in the Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is a body of water. People come from all over the world to visit it. It is famous because it is very salty. It is much saltier than the ocean.
People float easily in the Dead Sea. To float means to stay above the surface of water or another fluid such as air.
Density and Floating
Objects float when they are less dense than the fluid they are in. Density is a property of matter. It is the amount of matter packed in a certain amount of space.
The particles of a dense object are packed tightly together. The particles of a less dense object have more space around them.
Salt water is denser than fresh water. There are more particles in a cup of salt water than there are in a cup of fresh water. Both cups of water have the same amount of water. But fresh water doesn’t have many particles of salt.
KnowAtom incorporates formative and summative assessments designed to make students thinking visible for deeper student-centered learning.
Discover hands-on screens-off core science curriculum for student centered K-8 classrooms. KnowAtom supports classrooms with all hands-on materials, curriculum, and professional development to support mastery of the standards.
