Goals:

The students will become more familiar with the topic of buoyancy through observation and recording of data in an experiment.

The students will also be able to connect information learned from the experiment with what they already know about the Titanic.

The students will exercise their estimating skills through an approximation of how quickly certain objects on board the Titanic sank.

Materials:

1 large jar or an aquarium for every group

various objects composed of different materials (i.e. penny, nickel, sponge, styrofoam, etc.)

a source that describes the different objects on board the Titanic, what the Titanic was made of, and how far down in the ocean the Titanic sank (possible source is Ballard, Robert. (1988). Exploring the Titanic. Canada: The Madison Press Limited.)

1 stopwatch per group

paper and pencils/pens

Time:

This lesson will take one hour.

Procedure:

1.  The students will recall through a verbal discussion what types of objects were on board the Titanic. They should be able to recall a sufficient list from their experiences in the past two weeks, but they will be allowed to refer to A Night to Remember, and other books in the resource section of the room.

2.  The students will be divided into research teams of 3-4 students.

3.  The students will experiment with the various objects to see how fast they sink to the bottom of either the aquarium or the jar. The group will record on a piece of paper how quickly each object sank.

4.  The students will approximate how quickly certain items would sink to the bottom of the ocean where the Titanic lies by using the depth that they are experimenting with and multiplying to get the depth at which the Titanic lies. They will then take this information and multiply it with the time they got during their experiment.

Assessment:

The students will be assessed on how accurately they kept their data. Criteria for success: The students need to record data for every test run.

The students will be assessed on their written approximations of how quickly objects would have sunk on the Titanic. Criteria for success: The students need to show their work for this to demonstrate they have attempted to come up with answers through their written work.

Curricular Strands:

Science - learning about the density and the buoyancy of different materials

Math - using approximation, estimation, multiplication, and addition

Possible Extensions:

Have the students make a crude model boat, poke holes in them, and see how fast they sink (like the Titanic when it hit the iceberg).

The Titanic - developed by Kelly Coleman, Nikki Cosgrove, Megan Mills, & Dorothy Weber

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This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program.