Guided Inquiry Density

(Float, Sink or Flink?)

Year 8 Science
Introduction: Name _________________

In class you have considered the density of different substances. Where Density = mass/volume.

You will have two lessons to work through the following task.

Step 1 . Record the density of plain tap water at room temperature (This may have been calculated in a
previous task)

Density of water________________________________________________

When substances are not soluble in a solution, more dense materials will fall to the bottom and less
dense materials will float.

Flinking in the context of this experiment means staying suspended in the middle of the solution.

You will be given a toy.

Step 2. Calculate the density of the toy

Density of Toy _____________

Densities of solutions can be changed by adding a solute. For the next part of this experiment, salt a
solute will be added to water the solvent.

Step 4. Design a practical to investigate how adding varying amounts of salt to water affects the density of
the salt water solution. The experiment will need to have a minimum of 5 densities so you can produce a
graph of density v’s mass of salt added for your final report below.

You will need to measure a mass of salt.

Place the salt in a 100ml measuring cylinder and fill to 100ml with warm water. Stir to dissolve the salt and
weigh the final solution. Calculate the density of your solution and plot it on your graph.
Repeat 5 times with a different mass of salt each time.

Use your graph to predict how much salt needs to be added to make the sinking toy soldier flink. Create
this solution and test your prediction. Include a photo in your results.

Step 5. Complete a practical report for your experiment using the criteria outlined below.
Criteria
Section of report Marks Score
allocated
Title/Date/Name /1
Introduction
Record the Density of water and toy. /2
Aim- What is the purpose of the experiment? Independent and dependent variable. /2
Hypothesis- This predicts the results of the experiment- (Note this is when salt is added) /2
Materials - A list of all materials used /2
Method - This is a summary of how the experiment was completed. It must be in past
tense and be written as a paragraph.
Images of experimental process can be included. /4
Results -Table of results (include title, labels, units of measurements) /4
Graph Density of salt solution vs mass of salt added. /4
Photo of toy flinking in salt solution /1
Discussion
-State the results. Was the aim achieved? /2
-Describe any trends observed in the results. /2
-Why did your toy sink in water and flink in salt water? Explain. /2
-Limitations, discuss any sources of error or mistakes /2
-How could this practical investigation be improved? /2
-Explain how any suggested changes may influence the results /2
Conclusion: Relates to aim /2
Overall Mark /36