Let’s Talk About Buoyancy! Created by: Amanda M. LePage

What is buoyancy? Buoyancy is why an object sinks or floats when put in water. It is determined by the upward force of the water below on object (water displacement) and the weight of the object itself. If the weight is more than the buoyancy, the object will sink.

Density Density is important to understand when talking about buoyancy. Density is how much matter an object contains. The more matter an object contains, the more it will weigh.

Formula for Density The formula for density is : D= M/V D= density M= mass V= volume

Volume and Mass Although this was not our main focus, it is also important to know about volume and mass because in order to calculate density you must know what the volume and mass is of the object.

Predictions After learning about buoyancy and what factors affect it, we made some predictions. The heavier an object was, the more likely it would sink. The bigger object would displace more water.

Experiment Our experiment was testing different objects to see if they would float or sink. We took different objects and made predictions about their buoyancy. We then dropped the objects one by one into a tub of water and noted whether they sank or floated.

When asked about whether a candy twizzler would float, we said no because it was a lot lighter than say, a piece of wood. We were wrong, because the matter in the twizzler was more closely condensed than in the wood, the twizzler sank while the wood float.

Conclusions We concluded that the wood floated mainly because it displaced more water than the twizzler. This is also the case with boats. Boats float because of the amount of water it displaces.

The End We hope you enjoyed our slide show and you learned a thing or two about buoyancy. Just remember… If you want to float, try a boat! (Or anything that displaces enough water to keep it afloat)