How many pennies can a boat hold before it sinks?
Materials Needed
- Several pennies
- 2 squares of aluminum foil (15cm x 15cm)
- a rectangular container with water in it
What to Do
- Sit at a table where water is easily accessible.
- Design a boat made of aluminum foil that can hold pennies.
- Experiment with different shapes and structures to come up with your best design.
- Perform at least three trials to make sure your boat can float with at least ten pennies.
- If your boat holds at least ten pennies, try three more trials and put as many pennies as possible in your boat until it sinks.
- Keep a record of all your results/data.
Keeping Track
- Draw a diagram of your boat design.
- Before you test your boat, predict how many pennies your boat will hold.
- After you finish the experiment, write down two observations you made while testing your boat.
- How many pennies did your boat hold in trial #1? _________ trial #2 _________ trial #3 ________
- Were you right or wrong about your hypothesis?
