Resumen de JCE Classroom Activity #108. Using Archimedes’ Principle To Explain Floating and Sinking Cans
In this activity, students (working alone or in groups) measure the mass of several soda cans (diet and regular soda) along with the mass of water that each can displaces. The students are then asked to compare these two mass values for the sinking cans and for the floating cans. The purpose of this activity is for students to determine that the floating cans displace a mass of water roughly equal to the can’s mass while the sinking cans displace a mass of water that is less than the can’s mass. Students are asked to explain these results using Archimedes’ principle, which states that an immersed body is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces.
