NOTE TO TEACHERS:
These procedures are written to show you how you might use these technologies to teach science concepts. Suggested questions, approaches, and expected answers are all provided. Therefore, these activity descriptions should be used as a guide for your instructional planning, rather than as a step-by-step activity guide for students.

Getting Started

What determines whether an object floats or sinks?

This activity is a virtual experiment designed to help you answer this question.

From the Science menu on the homepage of www.explorelearning.com, select Chemistry, then Physical Properties of Matter, then launch the Density Lab gizmo. (Note that there is also a Density "Laboratory" gizmo, but it is not the simulation described in this activity.)

This screen shows a simulated container of liquid, a graduated cylinder for measuring volume, and a scale for measuring mass. There is also a collection of objects of different shapes, sizes, and densities.

The default liquid in the "Pail of Liquid" has the same density as water (1.0 g/cc).