Easy Science Experiment
Tin Foil Boats
In this easy science experiment you will be designing a tin foil boat that will hold the greatest number of pennies. Get together with some friends and have a contest to see who can design a cargo boat that will hold the most pennies.
Materials
- Tin foil
- Bowl
- Scissors
- Pennies
- Water
Directions
- Cut a piece of tin foil 5 x 6 inches.
- Fold up the sides of the boat
so it will not sink and hold a cargo of pennies.
- Place the boat in the
bowl of water. Begin adding pennies for the boat's cargo.
- See how many pennies your boat can carry before it sinks.
- Have some friends over and try this experiment with them. See
which one of you can create the boat that will carry the greatest amount
of cargo.
- Be sure to dry the pennies before you begin adding them as cargo because remember water has weight!
- Have the person who created the boat begin adding pennies to
their boat while another person counts the number of pennies as they are
added to the boat.
- Try different ways to distribute the weight of the pennies on your barge so you can carry the maximum number.
Try another science experiment.
- Create a boat out of tin foil
that is 4 x 5 inches. Make a prediction about how many pennies you will
be able to carry as cargo in this boat.
- Create boats out of clay and see if you can make them float and carry cargo.
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Science behind the experiment
There are two primary forces acting on this science experiment. The first force is gravity. Gravity is trying to pull the tin foil and pennies downward. The force of buoyancy is pushing the boat toward the surface.
The gravitational force is determined by the weight of the tin foil and the weight of the pennies in the boat. The force of buoyancy is the weight of the water displaced by the boat.
Your boat will continue to float as long as the force of buoyancy is greater than the force of gravity and you do not overload the boat so it will tip over or leak
More Links to Science Experiments
Elementary Science Experiments, Penny Drop In this fun science experiment you will see how many drops of water you can put on a penny without it overflowing.
Fun Science Experiment, Marble Powered Race Cars Create a ramp, a paper car and see how far you can make the car travel powered only by a marble!
Gravity Experiments, Perfect Landing Astronauts in the early days of space exploration returned to Earth using parachutes to slow their descent. In this experiment you create a variety of parachutes and test them.
Water Cycle Experiments, Floaters and Sinkers Try these amazing science experiments and find out how insects can walk on water!
Easy Science Experiment, Tin Foil Boats Create a tin foil boat and see how much cargo it can carry in this fun experiment.
Kids Fun Science The links on this page include information science activities, science experiments, plate tectonics, the rock cycle and much more.
Easy Science Experiments Lots of easy experiments for kids of all ages.
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