More Experimenting

Last week we had so much fun experimenting with floating vegetables we tried some more this week.  We tested a mango, an apple, kale, an orange, garlic, a delicata squash, and a baby carrot.  We were surprised to discover that only the baby carrot sunk.  After checking all of the fruits and vegetables I asked the class if they thought a pumpkin would float.  Everyone took a turn holding two pumpkins of different sizes and predicting if the pumpkins would float or sink.

Many children used the fact the pumpkins felt heavy to justify both the float and sink predictions.  This will lead us into some exploration of why some heavy things sink, while other heavy things float. The
pumpkins did float, and as a result we have even MORE questions.

The chart above shows some of our questions, which will turn into future experiments.
* Do balls float? Would a baseball, basketball, golfball, marble, tennis ball, and football float?
* Do all seeds float?
*Do pizzas and pies float?
*Can you make a floating object sink if you change what it looks like?

The question we will answer tomorrow is, "Do jack o' lanterns float?"  Stay tuned.....