Class 27 - March 28, 2011

Today's class took place in the fieldwork at Bishop Dunn. We learned about matter and buoyancy. Buoyancy means depends on how something floats and it depends on its mass and density. Mrs. Benfer told the students to read the directions, write up information on the worksheet, and design a boat. The students were suppose to write in their science worksheet chart the length, width, and height of the boat. The students were also suppose to predict how many pennies would fit in the boat before putting the water and then there is a column for how many the boat held after put in the water. My materials to make the two boats out of were clay and aluminium foil. Mrs. Benfer said that one penny equals 2.5 grams. I helped Matthew make both his boats. Matthew made the boat out of aluminum basically on his own I just gave him some help with the measurements. I made the clay boat and did the measurements. Matthew put both boats in the water and the pennies in the boat to see how much cargo or pennies the boat will hold. We did a second attempt with both material of clay and aluminum foil. Matthew and I made some changes to our boats. While we were making changes to the clay boat, the boat got a few small holes that we did not notice until we put the boat in the water. The clay boat held less pennies the second time we put this boat in the water. When Matthew put the aluminum boat in the water after making the changes the aluminum boat held a few more pennies then it did the first time. As we ran out of time in our session to finish all the questions, the next time Matthew told me about his answers to the questions about his boats.    Then we had to answer some questions.

I enjoyed this activity. It was fun to do this project with a student. I like this buoyancy activity. I think that it is a great idea to make two boats one out of aluminum foil and the other out of clay. I think that it is good to compare which material would hold the most cargo or pennies. I like the idea of the worksheet to have the students prediction of pennies and do the measurements in regard to the length, width, and height in mm. I think that it is also a good idea to include on the worksheet what students do next time with the boat or how to improve the boat.  The worksheet should also include what elements worked or did not work for the buoyancy on the boat. The worksheet should include what the student could do different next time for the boat. The worksheet should include a chart where the student can write down their measurements and prediction of pennies and what actually happened. This is important for students to do. Students will learn a lot from this activity about buoyancy. Buoyancy is important for students to know and it is great science experiment. I would use this activity in my classroom but I would have the students work in pairs so that the students can compare their answers and come up with answers together to the questions. Two students can can put their heads together and come up even more answers than one student working alone.      


I think that the experiment today that the students performed would be great to use in my own classroom.I like the idea of teaching the students about buoyancy through using two different materials. I liked the idea that Mrs. Benfer told the students how much a penny was in terms of grams. I like how Mrs. Benfer let the students be creative when making their boat and gave the students instructions. In my classroom I will give the students freedom to make their boat any dimensions that the students want the boat to be. I think that the project could have gone smoother if the students worked in groups of four or five. In my classroom I will also have a worksheet for the students and not have the students make up their own worksheet based off a textbook page.  It would have also run smoothly if there were more bowls to put the boats in. When I do the experiment in my classroom I will make sure to have enough bowls for the boats. In my classroom I may try to use a third material for the buoyancy project/ activity.  I had a fun time working with Matthew on this activity. I would definitely have the students work in groups. I would have the students try the same experiment with the clay boat, the aluminum boat and quarters or dollar coins and see what happens.  I really liked this experiment and will use it in my classroom.