(#200) Diving Into Pressure and Buoyancy
GRADE RANGE: K-12 Learning Resource
14 HANDS-ON STUDENT LABS EXPLORE: buoyancy, floating and sinking, pressure, Archimedes’ principle, Cartesian divers, displacement, volume, density, weightless suspension, and more. See content standard B (physical science).
(#200) DIVING INTO PRESSURE AND BUOYANCY begins a new “hybrid” Student Lab series similar in format to our self-directing Task Cards, yet divided into easy, bite-sized steps like our structured Activity Sheets. Our TOPS labs are fully supported by TEACHING notes for ease of use, plus STUDENT concept notes that foster independent lab inquiry. Differentiated instruction accommodates widely divergent student ability levels and flexibly adapts to tight time schedules. Order these labs as a 26-page print-on-demand PDF file or as loose-leaf hardcopy. You recycle your own soda bottles. We provide glass eyedroppers of appropriate size if you don’t already have your own.
CONTENTS: DIVING INTO PRESSURE AND BUOYANCY is organized into three main parts:
Introduction (teacher prep materials):
• Cover • Title page and copyrights • Table of Contents • Meeting the Standards • Scope and Sequence • Teaching Strategies • Materials List • Getting Ready Checklist
Teaching Notes and Reproducible Student Labs (14 student challenges):
- Can you rescue an eyedropper “diver” from the bottom of a bottle?
- Can you pick a floating diver from the mouth of a bottle?
- Can the same diver both sink and swim?
- Can you sink a diver completely filled with air?
- Can you launch a rocket diver?
- Can you make your diver hover weightless at all water depths?
- Can you make your diver hover weightless without touching the bottle?
- Who can fine-tune their diver to rise the slowest?
- Can you control an open diver with your bare hands?
- Does a diver’s hover point change when you cap the bottle?
- Is your diver a temperature sensor?
- Can you turn a test tube into a diver?
- Can you turn a fast-food condiment packet into an open-air diver?
- What else makes you curious?
Student Notes (four supplemental fact sheets for independent student reference and research):
displacement, buoyancy, Archimedes’ principle, weight…
pressure and depth, compressibility, volume, mass, density, states of buoyancy, action/reaction…
weightless hover point, cohesion, adhesion, pressure vs. volume, temperature vs. volume…
summary: nine Cartesian diver variables, depth gauge cutouts.
MATERIALS:
Student labs run on very simple materials, such as recycled two-liter plastic soda bottles, glass eyedroppers, water and air (see complete list). Just photocopy your choice of the 14 student labs, gather needed materials, and your students are ready for a hands-on, minds-on inquiry into pressure and buoyancy.
GRADE RANGE: K-12 Resource, designed for differentiated instruction.
MEETING THE STANDARDS: These TOPS Labs fully implement NSES guidelines. (See details below).
ORIGINS: written by Ron Marson, illustrated by Peg Marson
copyright 2008 by TOPS Learning Systems
ISBN 978-0-941008-24-X
ORDERING: Order online, or print a copy of our order form to mail in.
#200DL Downloadable PDF file: Diving into Pressure and Buoyancy @ $7.00
#200HC Hard Copy (loose-leaf): Diving into Pressure and Buoyancy @ $10.50
#SS112 glass eyedroppers with rubber bulbs @ $.80 each
Most labs require the top three items. After the first seven, items are only used in one or two labs. (Quantities # / # / # denote enough for: 1 student to do all experiments / 30 students working in self-paced pairs / 30 students working in pairs, all doing the same lesson)
| 1/15/15 | two-liter plastic soda bottles with airtight lids, labels removed |
| 1/1/1 | water source |
| 1/15/15 | glass eyedroppers with airtight bulb (ideal droppers available from TOPS) |
| .5/8/8 | feet waxed dental floss |
| 1/2/8 | scissors |
| 3/17/20 | straight plastic straws (avoid very wide-diameter ones) |
| 1/15/15 | towels, rags, or sponges to wipe up spills |
| 1/2/4 | paper punch tools |
| 1.1/17/17 | meters string (kite string is too light) |
| 3/30/45 | craft sticks or tongue depressors |
| 1/5/15 | thick rubber bands (not likely to break when pulled hard) |
| 1/5/15 | thin rubber bands |
| 1/15/15 | inches clear tape |
| 1/1/1 | cold water source (from a tap or a refrigerator) |
| 1/8/15 | small test tubes |
| 1/5/15 | deep glasses or tall jars |
| 1/5/15 | tubs or trays to catch water overflow |
| 1/7/15 | condiment packets (fast-food type) that float in water |
| 1/5/15 | paper clips |
| 1/15/15 | pinches modeling clay (oil-based, waterproof) |
| 1/15/15 | staples |
| 1/2/8 | boxes of paper clips |
National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996)
Here we link our TOPS Labs to the national standards. You may have state or district-level compliance issues not addressed by the national framework. To keep our presentation relevant to local as well as national perspectives, we fully elaborate ALL science content contained in this work, including topics not specifically named in the NRC document.
TEACHING Standards
These 14 TOPS Labs promote excellence in science teaching by these NSES criteria:
Teachers of science...
- …plan an inquiry-based science program.
- …guide and facilitate learning.
- …engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning.
- …design and manage learning environments
- …provide students with time, space, and resources for learning science.
CONTENT Standards
These 14 TOPS Labs contain fundamental content as defined by these NSES guidelines (p. 109).
- Represents a central event or phenomenon in the natural world.
- Represents a central scientific idea and organizing principle.
- Has rich explanatory power.
- Guides fruitful investigations.
- Applies to situations and contexts common to everyday experiences.
- Can be linked to meaningful learning experiences.
- Is developmentally appropriate for students at the grade level specified.
Unifying Concepts and Processes:
closed systems • open systems • regularities • theories • models • prediction • evidence • observation • explanation • interaction • change • measurement
Science as Inquiry (content standard A):
question • plan • design • investigate • gather data • classify • use technological tools • quantify • analyze • interpret • predict • communicate • reason • logic • evidence • variables • cause and effect
Physical Science (content standard B):
NSES Framework: properties of matter • changing properties • motions • forces
Core Inquiries: buoyancy • floating and sinking • pressure • Archimedes’ principle • Cartesian divers • fluids • displacement • pressure changes with depth • compressibility • density • volume • temperature • weight • weightless suspension • unstable equilibrium • ideal gas relationships (PV = kT)
Related Explorations: air • water • Boyle’s Law • Charles’ Law • Newton’s 3rd law (action/reaction) • cohesion/adhesion • surface tension
Science and Technology (content standard E):
invention • design • tools
GRADE LEVEL Sketches
(K-4): Observe changes in a Cartesian diver when you squeeze this bottle. The harder you squeeze, the faster it sinks. Can you turn a packet of salsa into a Cartesian diver?
(5-8): Squeeze a bottle of water with a floating Cartesian diver sealed inside. This mechanical pressure transfers force throughout the water in all directions. Yet only compressible air inside the diver reduces to a smaller volume. Would a test object still dive if it didn’t contain a compressible gas?
(9-12): Squeezing a Cartesian diver compresses its widely-spaced gas molecules much more than its closely-spaced liquid molecules. This decrease in the diver’s air volume reduces the amount of water it displaces, increases its density, and decreases its buoyancy. How might you use this diver to monitor changing room temperature?