E:\SteppingStones\Junior Gadgeteers\Junior Gadgeteers\MINI Gadgeteers (Rebranded)\8.27 Tale of a Fateful Ship\Ship Lesson Plan.docx

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Junior Gadgeteers Lesson Plan

Tale of a Fateful Ship

Age level: 3 and up

Subjects: Mechanics (buoyancy, displacement, and sails)

Duration: 30 minutes

Group Size: 15 students

Setting: Performance Gallery – floor OR Making Space OR Courtyard

Key Terms: buoyancy, displacement

Materials: Per child:

– 1 foam core board, ~4x5” – 1 pre-cut sail – 1 toothpick

For instructor: – Rock – Plastic football

– Posterboard – Bin of water – Colorful tape

Bins or kiddie pool Safety scissors Fan (if indoors)

Overview and Learner Outcomes

Students develop an intuitive, qualitative understanding kinetic energy by building a vertical marble maze.

Students will… Be able to describe displacement and buoyancy. Be able to predict whether an object will sink or float. Be able to identify an excess or deficit of kinetic energy in a mechanical design

and compensate for it.

Standards

Science Standards ETS1.A A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as

a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.

K-PS2-2 Analyze data from tests of an object or tool to determine if it works as intended.

K-PS3-2 Use tools and materials provided to design and build a device that solves a specific problem or a solution to a specific problem.

E:\SteppingStones\Junior Gadgeteers\Junior Gadgeteers\MINI Gadgeteers (Rebranded)\8.27 Tale of a Fateful Ship\Ship Lesson Plan.docx

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Engagement (5 minutes)

Displacement is the amount of water an object moves 1. Introduce the rock, plastic football (filled with air), and posterboard. Ask the

learners if they can predict which will float, and why. 2. Drop each object into the container of water. Introduce the term

displacement. Mark the water displacement of each object on the outside of the container with tape before removing it.

3. Compare the displacement of each object. The rock had the most displacement, and the football and posterboard had much less.

An object floats (is buoyant) if it weighs less than the water it moved (displaced) 1. Explain that we could weigh the amount of water that was displaced and

compare it to the weight of each object. 2. The rock displaced so much water that the displaced water would weigh more

than the rock itself, so it sunk. The football and posterboard displaced very little water – so little water that it wouldn’t weigh much compared to the objects, so they were buoyant.

3. If we let air inside the object by trapping air in it (like the football or submarine) or putting sides around the edges (like a boat), it displaces less water and is more likely to float.

Building the Boats (20 minutes)

1. Have the learners create a sail for their boat. 2. Ask the learners to look carefully at their foam core and predict whether it will

sink or float (hint: it is full of air). 3. Attach the sail to the boat using a toothpick. 4. Float the boats in the pool or bin.

Closing (5 minutes)

Close the class by going over buoyancy and displacement one more time.

Key Terms

Displacement. The amount of water or other fluid pushed aside by an object. Buoyancy. If the weight of an object is less than the weight of the water it

displaced, it will float (is considered buoyant). The force of an object “pushing” on the water is resisted by an equal and opposite force (Newton’s Third Law). This opposing force is called the buoyant force. If there is not enough displaced water to resist the object, the buoyant force will be overcome by the weight of the object and the object will sink.