Easy Science: Sink or Float?
Learn about household objects that sink and float in this easy-to-prepare activity.
While You Play
As you and your child collect items around the house, make predictions about what might float and what might sink. Ask your child what it means to “sink” and “float.” How do you know when something sinks? How do you know that it floats? Is it at the top of the water or the bottom? Discuss what you observe about these objects before you test them in water: Are they heavy or light? What shapes are they? What colors? What characteristics do you think affect whether it sinks or floats? Do you know of anything heavy that floats like a ship?
Materials
Directions
Fill the bowl with water and collect all of the items you child will test from around the house.
Talk through each item together. Make note of each item’s characteristics: what color, shape, weight, and whether or not you think it’ll float. Separate the items into a “float” pile and a “sink” pile based on your predictions.
One at a time, drop the items into the water. Make sure you test each item a few times. Dry the item and place it under “Sink” or Float” on the printable chart. If you’re using a plastic bottle or a similar hollow object, what happens when the plastic water bottle is empty? What about after you fill it with water and repeat the test?
Discuss the results with your child. Are your “sink” and “float” piles different than they
were before you did the experiment? Look at the “sink” pile: what do the objects have in common? How are they different? Repeat this exercise with the “float” pile.
Science