You’ll probably never need to know the volume of a Christmas decoration, but this simple science activity is a great way to learn about finding the volume of objects, and who knows, one day, it might come in useful.
You’ll need a Christmas decoration that you don’t mind getting wet and a small measuring container.
You’ll need
Water
Scissors
Blu tack
Plastic bottle
Plastic straw
Christmas decorations
How to find the volume of an irregularly shaped object
Cut the top off the plastic bottle. Ask an adult to help.
Carefully make a hole near the top of the bottom part of the bottle. The hole must be big enough for the straw to fit through.
Fix the straw in place with blue tack.
Place the jug under the straw.
Fill the bottle with water until the water starts to spill through the straw. Empty the jug.
Carefully place an object you want to measure into the water. The object must be fully submerged. When the water has stopped spilling into the jug, record the volume of water displaced.
The volume of water displaced is the volume of the object in the bottle!
What is volume?
Volume is the amount of 3-dimensional space an object takes up. Volume is measured in cubic units, for example, cm3
Convert litres to cubic centimetres
1 litre is 1000cm3
1ml is 1cm3
Convert volume to density
How do we know this method works?
This simple method for finding the volume of an irregularly shaped object is thought to have been discovered by a scientist named Archimedes, who is thought to have realised he could find the volume of any object by measuring the amount of water it displaced after noticing the water level rise as he had a bath.
If you enjoyed this activity, don’t forget to check out my ultimate list of Christmas science experiments!
Last Updated on November 26, 2024 by Emma Vanstone
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