Density

Activate: Students carry out a series of tasks to reveal their prior understanding of mass and volume and how they relate to the concept of ‘heaviness’.

Acquire: Lesson 1: Students are set the task of explaining a magic trick that involves floating and sinking. In this lesson they explore the concept of ratio on order to understand density, and learn how to calculate density using a formula. Lesson 2: Students investigate how density affects an object’s ability to float or sink in order to explain their trick.

Apply (see Mastery Practice Book): Apply Practice Book: problem 1.2 Explain floating & sinking (p6), and 1.3 Calculate density (p8)

Assess: Diagnostic quiz to check if students have acquired and can apply the concept: density 

Analyse: Students predict what will happen to a floating ball when the temperature of the surrounding water increases.