Floating Paperclip (ES)
Students will investigate balanced and unbalanced forces by investigating why some objects float and others sink.
Topic(s)
Motion & Stability: Forces and Interactions
type
Elementary school lesson
3
Grade(s):
time needed
30 minutes
author
Jeni Peterson
national next gen standards
• 3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object. [Clarification Statement: Examples could include an unbalanced force on one side of a ball causing movement; and, balanced forces pushing on a box from both sides not causing any motion.]
north dakota standards
• 3-PS2-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to prove the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
• PS2.A: Forces and Motion – Each force acts on one particular object and has both strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces action on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object’s speed or direction of motion.