owner can get to a repair shop.
Try This: Floating Metal
Question: Does metal float?
Materials
A cup of tap water
Paper clips
Liquid dish soap or a bar of soap
Procedure
Bend one paper clip into a flat hook shape, so a second paper clip can be placed on the flat surface.
Try to place a paper clip on the surface of the water so that it does not sink.
Carefully place a second paper clip on the flat part of the unfolded paper clip and slowly lower it into the water. The paper clip should float.
Place a few drops of soap in the water, or touch the bar of soap to the water's surface and watch what happens to the paper clip.
The Science Behind the Magic
The paper clip floats because of the surface tension of the water. If you were to place the paper clip in the water at an angle or drop it from a height, the force would break the surface tension and it would sink. But gently lowering the paper clip onto the water allows the surface tension to stay intact and the paper clip floats. Adding the soap breaks the tension and the paper clip sinks to the bottom of the glass.
Did You Know?
More than 80 billion gallons of water are wasted each year in America by people waiting for water from their faucets to get warm.
Science Quote
âWater is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one, but there is also a third thing, that makes it water and nobody knows what that is.â
â D. H. Lawrence, British novelist
Follow-Up
You can extend this experiment by testing different objects, such as a needle or a small nail to see which ones float and which do not. Try to find out what shapes, sizes, and weights seem to work the best. Does soap always cause these other items to sink?
SURFACE TENSION: A result of water molecules squeezing together to produce a sort of lid on the surface of the water.
Did You Know?
It's trueâmetal does float!Large ships are often made out of steel or other kinds of metal and they float due to their shape. If a ship's metal was made into a ball of metal, it would sink, but because of its shape, it easily floats in water.
Abracadabra
Is it magic? Is it science? Or is it just silly?! To find the answer to this riddle, use a bright colored marker to highlight all the letters in the puzzle grid. Ignore the symbols, dollar signs, etc. Read the letters from left to right, and top to bottom.
Sinking Oranges
Question: What makes an orange float or sink in water?
KIDS' LAB LESSONS
Experiment Overview
When first exploring water, many children wear water wings, life jackets, or other aids to help them stay afloat. But what does a piece of fruit wear in the water if it wants to keep from sinking? In this experiment, you will place fruits in water with and without their peels and decide which peels help keep their fruits high and dry.
Science Concept
The Greek scientist Archimedes once famously shouted âEurekaâI've found it!â when he discovered the concept of buoyancy and ran through the streets of town announcing his discovery. Unfortunately, this realization came to him while he was bathing in his bathtubâ¦wearing no clothes. What Archimedes figured out is that objects have to move water out of the way in order to be placed in it. That water has weight. He found that the weight of that displaced water is the same as the force that lifts up the object in the water. If that force is enough, the object can float. A block of wood is an example of something that experiences a buoyant force equal to its weight. A bowling ball, however, doesn't experience a large enough buoyant force, and so it sinks.
Materials
Several pieces of fruit
Large bowl of water
Adult helper
Knife, for peeling the fruit
Procedure
Select a fruit and predict whether or not it will float when placed in the water.
Place the fruit in the water and observe whether or not it floats.
Ask your adult helper to assist you as you peel the fruit.
Once you have completely removed the peel, place the fruit in the water again and observe