Christmas Sinking and Floating

We’ve done lots of sinking and floating activities before, but today tried it with a Christmas twist.

What you need

A large container

Water

Decorations

Method

Look at your items, can you predict which will sink and which will float? You could even make a table to record your predictions and the results.

Add each item one at a time to the water.

Were your predictions correct?

Can you make a plasticine boat, or find a small bucket that floats? If you put an object that previously sank into it, what happens?

The Science bit.

Whether an object floats or sinks depends on its density. Density is how tightly packed the material inside an object is. Just because something is heavy does not mean it will sink. For example, ships are very heavy but not very dense so they float.

If you liked this post, try our other Christmas Science Ideas