I used this activity with my kids. This lab was so simple that they were able to figure everything out without too much guidance from me. The biggest problem they had was filling out the table. They were confused about why they had to write 3 variables into the table, instead of just one.
However, they understood density after this activity, and really were interested in how it connected to the ocean. GREAT activity!
Wed, 10/17/2012 - 16:05
I hope this isn't too late, I had my students use both tables.. I wanted to sort of get an idea for how I'd run it if I were doing it in the beginning of the year
Wed, 10/17/2012 - 10:13
Loved this activity! All students were engaged for the entire block period. After they made their predictions and drew their conclusions (that regular coke always sinks) I put a floating coke can in their container. Talk about excitement. At this point the students decided I was either a sorcerer or a magical witch! Probably one of the best parts. Overall, really a lot of fun but a lot of learning going on.
Fri, 10/19/2012 - 16:59
I did this activity with my middle school students. We modified the lab by having each pair of students use one can of soda in a clear tank of water. Each team shared it's own data. I had Coke, Diet Coke, Root Beer, Diet Root Beer, Fanta Grape, Fanta Orange, and Mountain Dew. I copied the TSI tables, so each person had one to complete. We concluded the activity with a group discussion and drank the sodas.
Fri, 11/02/2012 - 20:43
We did this activity in two groups. Boys/Girls. We modified it slightly because we had smaller tanks. They used one tank per can and then moved the cans to different tanks two at a time and ultimately all four seas in one tank. All our 4 cans floated. None sank. They did check out the ingredients and tried to determine if one floated higher than another. They worked in their groups to fill out the worksheets and ultimately decided, without much guidance from me that it was the sugar and sodium that was different in each can. It would have been more fun if one had actually sank. They originally (as I did) thought the sodas floated due to the carbonation/air space in the can.
Mon, 10/08/2012 - 00:51
Did you use both table 1.1 and table 1.2? I was thinking about revising 1.2 to have students measure mass & volume before testing the variables & observing the floating. Then I was wondering if table 1.1 was neededat all... what do you think after doing the activity with your students?