STEM Fair Project How does the density of a liquid affect how fast an object sinks in it?

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of my experiment was to find out if a penny would sink faster in liquids with less or more density.

Question: Will a penny sink in a more dense liquid or a less dense liquid?

How I did it: I took a glass container and in 3 different liquids, of different densities, dropped a penny in and measured how long it took the penny to fall to the bottom for each liquid.

What I Learned: I found that the penny sank in the liquid with the least density.

Conclusion: The lighter the density of a liquid, the faster an object will sink in it.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

Table of Contents

(1) Question (2) Variables (3) Hypothesis (4) Research (5) What I Used (6) How I did the experiment (7) Data Analysis (8)Conclusion (9)Bibliography

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Question How does the density of a liquid affect how fast an object sinks in it?

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Variables Independent Water Paint Thinner Syrup Dependent The rate at which a penny will sink Controlled Glass Container Penny

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Hypothesis (What I think will Happen) The sinking object (penny) will sink to the bottom of the glass container faster in liquids that are of less density than liquids that have more density.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Research What is density?

how much difference in the weight of two objects of the same size

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

More Research The most important parts of my research were : (A) Selection of the test liquids – I had to pick liquids that had different densities so that I could see the difference with how the penny would sink.

(B) Selection of the sinking object – I picked the penny as my sinking object because its density was greater than any of our test liquids, but close to that of the test liquids. This allowed my object to sink at a rate that could be measured in seconds.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Background Research (cont.) The most important parts of my research were as follows: (C) The molasses was too dark to see the penny when it was dropped into it – I replaced syrup for the molasses because syrup was lighter in color compared to molasses and the penny could be seen as it sank in the syrup.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) Materials List Pennies Glass container Stop watch Pencil Paper Water (test liquid#1) Paint thinner (test liquid#2) Syrup (test liquid#3)

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (1) Gather the materials for the experiment.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (2) Gather the materials needed to measure and compile the data to be collected during the experiment.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (3) Pick the person who will drop the penny in the liquid.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (4) Pick the person who will start and stop the stopwatch.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (5) Pick the person to write down how long it took for the penny to sink to the bottom of the glass container

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (6) Create the data table to record the data.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (7) Mark of the glass container to know how far to fill the glass container.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (8) Fill the glass container with “test liquid #1”, to the mark on the container.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (9) Drop the penny into the liquid and start the stopwatch.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (10) Stop the stopwatch once the penny touches the bottom of the container.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (11) Write down the time, from the stopwatch, onto the data table.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Experimental Procedures (cont.) (12) Perform the experiment 3 times in this liquid. Find the average time it took for the penny to reach the bottom, for this liquid.

(13) Empty the container, clean the container and dry it.

(14) Repeat all of the steps for each liquid.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Data Analysis

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Conclusion After the experiment I learned that the penny sank faster in liquid of less density compared to the liquids of heavier density. Liquid #3 (syrup) had the heaviest density and Liquid #2 (paint thinner) was the lightest. The penny sank to the bottom of the glass container three times faster in paint thinner. Therefore, it was concluded that my hypothesis was correct. The penny sank to the bottom of the glass container faster in the liquid that had the least density.

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School

STEM Fair Project

Bibliography Michael Padilla, Prentice Hall Science Explorer: Earth’s Waters. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006 Prentice Hall, 2006 Rinehart and Winston Hall, Science Spectrum: Physical Approach. Holt McDougal, 2000 Michael Padilla, Prentice Hall Science Explorer: Earth’s Waters. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006

Alexis Denny – 3 rd Grade – Ms. Daskivich – Northview Elementary School