Overview

Sink or Float

Water actually pushes up on anything that land on it. This upward pushing is called
the buoyant force.
If the buoyant force of the water is equal to the weight of the object on the surface
pushing down, the objects will float.
If the buoyant force of the water is less than the weight of the object on the surface
pushing down, the object will sink.
One of the interesting things about the buoyant force of water is that it changes
depending upon the weight, shape, and volume of the objects placed in it.
Surprisingly enough, shape makes the largest difference because the shape determines
how much water will be displaced.
For example, if we take a ball of clay and drop it in a bucket of water, it will sink to
the bottom. If the same amount of clay is rolled out flat and molded into a container
shape, like a boat, it will float. This happens because the new shape causes more
water to be displaced.

Websites and Books about Sink or Float

http://science.k12flash.com/forceandmotion.html
(this site has games that uses force and motion)
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/sid/activities/forceandmotion/
(this site allows parents/students to choose different grade levels)
http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_force.html
(this site has many formulas and activities)
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/forcesinaction.html
http://pinterest.com/thepam/science-forces-and-motion/
(this site has experiments that students can try at home)
Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen
This wonderfully illustrated book is designed for sharing aloud and will make children
giggle as they guess which animal spoilt a day's rowing by sinking the boat.

Floating and Sinking (First Facts, Our Physical World) by Ellen Niz Introduces the
concepts of floating and sinking, and how they are used in the world. Includes an activity.
The Magic School Bus Ups And Downs: By Joanna Cole (Ages 4-8)
The kids try to dive down under the water, but the bus won't go! The class has to figure
out how to turn their floater into a sinker so they can solve the mystery of the underwater
monster.
Floating and Sinking (How Do Things Move?) by Sue Barraclough (Ages 4 and up)
Why do certain things float while others sink? Find out in this title for young readers.
Colorful photos and engaging design will draw in your readers.

Sink or Float? (Reading Essentials: Discovering Science) by Vijaya Khisty Bodach

Family Activities

Displacement

When an object is added to a liquid, the object pushes the liquid out of its way to make
room. To see this in action, fill a glass measuring cup with 1 cup of water and then set an
egg into the cup. See how the level of the water rose above the 1 cup mark? That is called
displacement, because the water was displaced, or pushed out of the way, by the egg.

Do you know why oil floats on water?

Would an object that sinks in oil be able to float in water? Try this experiment to find out
and learn more about density.
What You Will Need:

1-cup glass measuring cup

vegetable oil
water
food coloring
corn syrup
small objects (a raisin, grape, cork, button, penny, screw, and piece of wax)

What to Do:
1. Fill the cup with water to the 1/3 mark. Add 2 or 3 drops of food coloring.
2. Add 1/3 cup of corn syrup so that the level of liquid in the cup rises to the 2/3 cup
mark.
3. Add 1/3 cup of oil to fill the cup to the 1 cup mark.
4. Watch what happens. The layers should separate so that the corn syrup is on the
bottom, the oil is on top, and the water is in the middle.
5. Guess where each of your objects will land when dropped into the cup, and then
test them out one at a time.
What's Happening? The corn syrup was the densest liquid, so it sank to the bottom of the
cup. The water was less dense than the corn syrup, but denser than the oil, so it settled on
top of the corn syrup. The oil was the least dense, so it floated on top of the water!
Sink or Float worksheet
-Children can test things around the house and record them on the Sink or Float
worksheet. Talk with them about why do certain the objects sink and why do they
float. Suggest things around the house for children to do the sink or float test on!