Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

[Phys-L] Re: Buoyancy challenge activity



Hasan,
We do this as an outreach activity with elementary school
students. We use pennies instead of marbles and a plastic wading pool.
We award small prizes for the largest number of pennies held before
sinking. While any number of methods may optimize load, the one that
held the most pennies recently was produced by taking the foil and
wrapping it around the closed fist of the student. In fact she just
held the foil in one hand and hit it with her other hand. Sometimes
taking the sword to the Gordian knot is the best solution!


THO

Thomas O'Neill
Physics
Shenandoah Valley Governor's School

-----Original Message-----
From: Fakhruddin, Hasan [mailto:hfakhrud@BSU.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 5:50 PM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Buoyancy challenge activity

Hi all!

ALUMINUM FOIL BOAT

Someone asked me for help with the following challenge pertaining to
buoyancy:

"You are given a square piece of aluminum kitchen foil. You have to
make a boat out of it. The boat that holds most number of marbles before
sinking wins."

I made one suggestion to the person but haven't got the feedback
yet...(may be he lost... hehe)

Any thoughts about it?; anyone tried it?

~ Hasan Fakhruddin
Instructor of Physics
The Indiana Academy for Science, Math, and Humanities
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306