Float or Sink Science Activity
Objective:
Children will discover which object will float or sink.Notes:
This science experiment (activity) can be an all day activity, either for your class or your child. You can modify the activity to make it fit within the lesson time period if necessary. Put kids into group of three. Explain the objective of the experiment and the materials that will be used. Encourage children to think outside the box and explore their natural curiosity. Be sure to print all the object suggestions and data sheets below.
Key Words:
Liquid (water), Solids (some of the things to be used), Float, Sink (submerge), Buoyancy (buoyant), Density, Heavy, Light, Air, Displacement etc.
Sink:
The action of an object when it becomes submerged in the water (liquid). There is displacement when an object sinks.
Float:
The action of an object when it sits on the surface of the water (liquid). There is usually no displacement.
Materials:
Full trough of liquid (water) or a full bucket of water, small items such as a rock, pencil, leaf, feather, coin, piece of paper, flower petal, twig, crayon, key, rubber duck, magnet, nail, spoon, scissors, peg, drinking straw. (see object suggestions below)
Preparation:
Print the objects sheet below (one for each child). Get children to warm up by colouring the objects. Cut out the objects along the broken lines and get them ready to record the findings of the experiment. You can have the children use the prediction chart to predict the behavior of the objects before the activity.
Keep the data recording chart table or sheets away from the water/experiment so that they do not get wet.
Object suggestions for the experiment. Please print.
Observation chart for the experiment. Please print.
Prediction chart for the experiment. Please print.
Preferred result sheet. This sheet combines both float and sink results. Please print.
Result sheet for sink objects.
Result sheet for float objects.
DOWNLOAD ALL THE DATA WORKSHEETS ABOVE AND PRINT
Experiment:
Pick an item. Have them predict (Please use prediction chart above): Will this float? Will it sink? Will it displace a lot of liquid? Good idea to get a big sinkable object to show water displacement.
Demonstrate to the children how you would like the items to be placed in the liquid, avoiding splashing/displacement.
Have them observe what happens. Talk about what happened. Let them use the correct scientific words such as float, sink, liquid, etc. Is anyone surprised about a particular object’s behaviour? What are they surprised at? Was it the size, weight, colour, texture?
IMPORTANT:
Ensure that children understand that color, texture and size may not make an object float or sink.
Have each child perform an item drop into the liquid. What happens? Talk about it.
Clean up the experiment table and pull out the chart sheets with the cut-out objects.
Have the children paste the objects at their correct spaces on their worksheets.
Conclusion:
Have children say something about what they observed. Ensure that the learning outcomes are positive.
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KEYWORDS: STEM STEAM Sink Float Buoyant Displacement, Air Water Science Experiment