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Notes for teachers

It is helpful to have another adult helper for this lesson. One adult can circulate and check that teams are on track and the other adult can be at the water tub putting pennies on the boats.
Students will work in pairs.
Creative solutions should be encouraged.

List of Materials

a large tub of water (I use my classroom lunch storage tub)
aluminum foil
pennies (at least 200)
rulers
science notebooks

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Standards

Science Standards

5.P2U1.3 Construct an explanation using evidence to demonstrate that objects can affect other objects even when they are not touching.

5.P3U1.4: Obtain, analyze, and communicate evidence of the effects that balanced and unbalanced forces have on the motion of objects.

Science and Engineering Practices

ask questions and define problems
develop and use models
plan and carry out investigations
analyze and interpret data
use mathematical and computational thinking
construct explanations and design solutions

Standards

Math Standards

5.G.B Classify two-dimensional figures into categories based on their properties.

5.NBT.B.7 Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, connecting objects or drawings to strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between operations. Relate the strategy to a written form. (if you have students calculate how much weight their boat holds - multiply the number of pennies by 2.5 - the weight of one penny)

5.MD.A.1 Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system, and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real-world problems. (ask them how many square inches are in the square foot of foil they are getting - the answer is 144)

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Objective(s):

Today we will collaborate and communicate effectively with our peers to complete an engineering design challenge.

Today, we will design and engineer a boat made out of aluminum foil.

Today, we will examine how surface area affects water displacement.

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Agenda (60 minutes)

How can you build a floating boat out of aluminum foil that will hold the most pennies?

writing in science notebooks = approx. 20 minutes
building foil boats and partner discussion = approx. 20 minutes
putting boats in water tub and putting pennies in the boats = approx. 20 minutes

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

Have you ever thought about how HUGE cruise ships can float?

You are going to build the strongest boat you can using only foil. We will use pennies as our measurement (you can think of each penny as a little passenger on your boat).

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

You should work in pairs.
How many square inches are in one square foot?
Please copy the following in your science notebook:

FOIL BOAT

Partner: (write partner’s name)

Challenge: Build the strongest boat possible using 1 square foot of foil. The boat that holds the most pennies before sinking wins. You cannot use other materials.

Imagine: (brainstorm with your partner and draw at least 2 different diagrams of how you could build your boat)

Plan: (write at least 2 sentences about HOW you will build your boat - what tools will you use? what shape will your boat be? etc.)

After students have built their boats, have each pair put their boat in the tub (one team at a time) and count how many pennies their boat holds.
Then, ask students to complete their notebook entry by discussing the following with their partner and then writing the following:

Improve: (After you have built and tested your boat, write at least 4 sentences…see the next slide for ideas.)

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Assessment

Write a paragraph in your “improve” section of your write-up answering the following questions:

What contact forces are acting on your boat?
What non-contact forces are acting on your boat?
What adjustments could you make to your boat to make it stronger?
How do boats hold so much weight?
How did your boat displace water?
What was the approximate surface area of your boat?
What was successful about your boat? What worked well?

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Differentiation

Give students an opportunity to build a second boat using what they learned after building their first boat.

Write the following words on the board for students to use in the “improve” section of their write-up: displacement, gravity, surface area, and buoyant.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Here are a couple of videos you could watch either before or after they build the boats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnLccU8mihQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvWrkxzCiaY

Students could analyze the different shapes of boats and why they float.

Students could calculate how much weight their boat held (pennies made after 1983 weigh 2.5 grams each).

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