Sinking and floating

We were studying sinking and floating in October and November. We started by coming up with a definition of sinking and floating, so we could always agree if something was floating or not. Then, we tested a number of objects and materials, and tried to come up with reasons why they floated or not. Some of our reasons were correct, and others were not.

We then had the challenge of making something heavy that can float. We created boats that could support rocks on them! Here's a video of this investigation:


Then, we tried to make clay float without using any other materials. Our clay ended up dissolving in water too easily, and none of the groups ended up being successful, but they quickly began working through multiple iterations of problem solving ideas. One group said, "Now we're on Plan G!"

Mr. MacLellan brought in a boat he made out of concrete. It was really heavy, but its shape made it float (until enough water came in through cracks in the concrete, but we won't talk about that...).