Buoyancy at it’s Best!!

Goal: To create a boat that floats using household materials. 

  To explore buoyancy and buoyant force.

Requirements: To achieve success at the Buoyancy Bash you need to have

1. Materials:  You may use any of the following:

·   Wood (including popsicle sticks, toothpicks etc.)

·   String

·   Cardboard

·   Tape

·   Aluminum Foil

·   Plastic Wrap

·   Styrofoam

·   Any material from your recycling bin (plastics, aluminum, paper)

·   YOU MAY NOT USE ANY PRE-FABRICATED BOATING PRODUCTS (BOATS, HULLS, TOYS etc.)

2. Size

Surface area of your boat must be a minimum of 4 inches by 4 inches (4x4) and no greater than 12 inches by 12 inches (12x12).

3. Design- your boat must have sides that are 1 inch or higher and include creativity to make it unique.

4. A well-written 5 paragraph essay.  See bottom for instructions.

At the Bash: There will be judging on buoyancy, cargo, creative design, and most unusual material.  Everyone must pass the buoyancy test to meet the requirement.  Each student has an opportunity to sign up for one of three additional categories

Creative Design Most Unusual Material   Most Cargo Held

Word Bank;

·   shape

·   design

·   buoyant force

·   displacement

·   weight

·   mass

·   surface area

Rubric

¨   the boat floated

¨   the boat is 4 by 4 and smaller 12 by 12

¨   materials are accepted

¨   completed on time

¨   name of the boat on the boat

…

Written Component: Buoyancy Bash (Most will be done in class--final draft at home)
Introduction: Includes a lead and topic sentence.

Three Body Paragraphs

· Body 1- Describe the materials you used and the process you followed to both design and construct your boat.  Use of transition words must be evident.
· Body 2- In order to construct a boat, you must have knowledge of how objects float.  Using your design and the materials you chose to use, explain why your boat will float using appropriate vocabulary, examples from experiments, and collected data from the science notebook. 
· Body 3- How would your boat be different if we tested its buoyancy in salt water, as opposed to fresh water?  How could this be helpful to a cargo carrying company delivering oil to different parts of the world?  Use appropriate vocabulary and examples from experiments and collected data from the science notebook.

Conclusion: Restate the three main ideas in a concluding statement.

To be proficient:
Each paragraph must contain a main idea sentence and at least a minimum of four details.
Transition words must be evident and diverse. 
A variety of sentence starters are evident throughout the piece.
Correct knowledge of sinking and floating aspects must be portrayed.
Examples and data from the science notebook are used appropriately.
Use 5th Grade Writing Benchmark Grammar/Spelling Rubric