Present the class with a question on whether the water level of a pond will rise they take a large rock out of a boat and drop it into the pond. Groups come down on all sides of the question and try to justify their answers. The activity models the situation to determine what actually does happen when the rock is removed from the boat and placed into the bottom of the pond.

Concepts

archimedes, archimedes' principle, buoyancy, density, mass, pressure, volume, fluids, technology resources

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Instructional Ideas

• Ask the class if the shape of the rock or the boat makes a difference
• After finding out what happens, have the class hypothesize what would happen if the cargo floated

Classroom Considerations

• The class should have a working knowledge of Archimedes' Principle and density

Pros

• The answer key includes the mathematics involved in arriving at the formula
• The resource contains an animation of the Archimedes' water balance

Cons

• None

Common Core

HSA-REI.B.3