Teachers Guide to Density Treasure Hunt

The density treasure hunt is a fun way for students to learn about density. Students will learn about the effect density has on things that sink or float (buoyancy) and whether things will mix together (miscible) or not (immiscible). Density can be defined as how much something weighs compared to how large it is. Two object that are the same size and have different masses, have different densities. The object with a larger mass compared to its size has a larger density.

Students will learn that solids with greater densities than water will sink and solids with smaller densities than water will float. They will also learn that liquids with the same density will mix and liquids with different densities will form layers, with the liquid of larger density on the bottom.

Materials: (materials are enough for one group of 2-3 students)

6 clear plastic cups

Paper clip

Ping pong ball

Cork

Tooth pick

Coin

Plastic bead with a small hole

Food coloring

Corn Syrup colored purple

Water colored green

Rubbing Alcohol colored blue

Vegetable oil

Milk

11 small containers with caps to hold the liquids in

*16 Paper lunch bags

Green, yellow and purple crayons

4 spoons or things to stir with

Candy or Toys for the Treasure

Treasure Hunt Worksheets 1-4

*While the materials call for 16 paper bags, it is not necessary to have a set of bags with the incorrect codes on them for every student. Of the 16 bags 12 of them have wrong answers on them and 4 of them contain the materials for the next activity. I would suggest have 2 sets of bags with incorrect answers on them. This would give a total of 24 bags + 4 for every group of students. (A class with 10 groups of students would be 64 bags).

Instructions

** The four activities can be put together in the treasure hunt format, or the activities can be done separately as mini activities and they can ignore the secret codes.

Part 1 – “Sink or Float” – For this activity each group of students needs one cup, a paper clip, ping pong ball, cork, tooth pick, a coin and the “Sink or Float” worksheet (one worksheet for each student). Because this is the first activity of the treasure hunt, these items can be place on the students work station. Of the five items, the cork, the tooth pick and the ping pong ball will float, therefore the secret code from the first activity will be 3. Using 5 of the paper bags, label them #1-5. In bag #3 put the materials for the second activity described below. In the other bags place the “Sorry. Go back to the last activity and check your answers” note. Place these bags in a place where students can find them.

Part 2- “Layer Up!” – For this activity, you will need one cup, one plastic container filled with oil labeled #1, one plastic container filled corn syrup labeled #2, and one plastic container filled with water labeled #3. Place these materials in the bag labeled #3 along with the worksheet for the “Layer Up” activity (one worksheet for each student). The students worksheets instruct them to pour the liquids into a cup and see what happens. They then record their answers in the sheet. # 2 (corn syrup) will be on the bottom, #3 (water) will be in the middle, and #1 (oil) will be on top. The liquid that is most dense is corn syrup, least dense is oil and the secret code is 231. Using 5 of the paper bags, label them 231, 123, 321, 213, and 132. In bag 231 put the materials for the third activity described below. In the other bags place the “Sorry. Go back to the last activity and check your answers” note. Place these bags in a place where students can find them. Separate from the bag for activity #2

Part 3 – “To Mix or Not to Mix” – In bag 231, place 3 containers labeled #1 and water, 2 bags labeled #2 and oil, 2 containers labeled #3 and milk, 1 container labeled #4 and alcohol (8 containers total), 4 cups and 4 things to stir with along with the worksheet for the “To Mix or Not to Mix” activity (one worksheet for each student). For this activity, students are asked to pour combinations of liquids into a cup and see if they mix or form layers. Milk and water will mix, water and oil will form layers, oil and milk will form layers, and water and alcohol will mix. The liquids that mix with water are alcohol and milk. The liquid that did not mix with water is oil. Oil is did not mix or is immiscible with milk, therefore, oil is the secret code. Using 3 of the paper bags, label them water, alcohol and oil. Place the materials for the next activity in the bag labeled oil. In the other bags place the “Sorry. Go back to the last activity and check your answers” note. Place these bags in a place where students can find them. Separate from the bag for activity #2 and #3.

Part 4 – “Which Layer?” – In the bag labeled oil place the bead along with the worksheet for the “Which Layer?” activity (one worksheet for each student). The students will use the cup with the layers from the “Layer Up!” activity and are instructed to drop the bead into the cup and see where it lands. The bead should fall through the oil and water and rest on the corn syrup. The bead will be buoyant in corn syrup. Place the treasure in a bag marked corn syrup. In two other bags write, oil and water and place the “Sorry. Go back to the last activity and check your answers” note inside.

Sorry. Go back to the last activity and check your answers.

Treasure Hunt Part 1

There’s a hidden treasure and it’s your job to find it. Each activity reveals a secret code to get to the next. Complete each activity to get one step closer to finding the treasure. Good Luck!

Sink or Float

Key words: density, buoyancy

Density is how much something weighs compared to how big it is. When two things are the same size and one weighs more than the other, the one that weighs more has more density. When a solid object has less density than a liquid, it will float or is buoyant.

Directions:

Fill a cup halfway with water. Drop each of the 5 objects in and see whether they sink or float. The five objects have different densities. Objects that have a density less than water will float and objects that have a density greater than water will sink. Circle SINK or FLOAT next to each object.

1) Paper ClipSINKFLOAT

2) Ping Pong BallSINKFLOAT

3) CorkSINKFLOAT

4) Tooth Pick SINKFLOAT

5) CoinSINKFLOAT

How many objects will FLOAT in the water? ______

How many objects will SINK in the water? ______

The secret code is how many objects are buoyantin

water? ______

Treasure Hunt Part 2

Congratulations! You are one step closer to finding the treasure. Try this new activity for another secret code. Good luck!

Layer Up

We learned when solids are less dense than a liquid, they would float or have buoyancy and when solids are more dense, they will sink. What happens when you have liquids with different densities?

Directions:

The three liquids in the bag all have different densities. The liquid with the largestdensity will be on the bottom, the liquid with the smallest density will be on top, and the other liquid will be in the middle.

Slowly pour liquid #1 into the cup. Slowly pour liquid #2 into the cup. Slowly pour liquid #3 into the cup. Draw a picture of what they look like.

Which number is on the bottom? ______

Which number is in the middle? ______

Which number is on top? ______

#1 - oil #2 - corn syrup #3 - water

Which liquid is most dense (on the bottom)? ______

Which liquid is least dense (on the top)? ______

The secret code is BOTTOM #, MIDDLE #, TOP #

______

Treasure Hunt Part 3

Congratulations! You are almost there. Try the next activity for the secret code. Good Luck!

To Mix or Not to Mix

Key words:density

Directions:

From the last activity, you learned that when liquids have different densities they make layers. When liquids have the same density, they will mix together.Let’s see what liquids have the same density and what liquids have different densities.

#1 - water#2 - oil#3 - milk#4 - alcohol.

Pour #1 and #3 into a cup and then stir. Circle whether they MIX or make LAYERS.

Pour #1 and #2 into a cup and then stir. Circle whether they MIX or make LAYERS.

Pour #2 and #3 into a cup and then stir. Circle whether they MIX or make LAYERS.

Pour #1 and #4 into a cup and then stir. Circle whether they MIX or make LAYERS.

1) #1 (water) + #3 (milk)LAYERSMIX

2) #1 (water) + #2 (oil)LAYERSMIX

3) #2 (oil) + #3 (milk)LAYERSMIX

4) #1 (water) + #4 (alcohol)LAYERSMIX

What mixed with #1 (water) ______

What did not mix with #1 (water) ______

The secret code is what did not mix with #3 (milk)? ______

Treasure Hunt Part 4

Congratulations! You have reached the final activity of the treasure hunt. The secret code to this activity will lead you to the treasure. Good

luck!

Which Layer?

Directions:

Using the cup with the layers from Layer Up! drop in the bead and see where it lands.

Which liquids are on top of the bead? ______

Which layers are below the bead? ______

The secret code is whatwon’t the bead be buoyant in? ______

*Hint: It is also the liquid that is least dense.

Treasure Hunt Part I

There’s a hidden treasure and it’s your job to find it. Each activity reveals a secret code to get to the next. Complete the activities to get one step closer to finding the treasure. Good Luck!

Sink or Float

Key words: density, buoyancy

Density is how much something weighs compared to how big it is. When a solid object has less density than a liquid, it will float or is buoyant.

Directions:

1) Paper Clip______

2) Ping Pong Ball______

3) Cork______

4) Tooth Pick______

5) Coin______

How many objects are less dense than water? ______

How many objects are denser than water? ______

The secret code is how many objects are buoyant in

water? ______

Treasure Hunt Part 2

Congratulations! You are one step closer to finding the treasure. Try this new activity for another secret code. Good luck!

Layer Up!

We learned when solids are less dense than a liquid, they would float or have buoyancy and when solids are more dense, they will sink. What happens when you have liquids with different densities?

Directions:

The three liquids in the bag all have different densities. The liquid with the largest density will be on the bottom.

Slowly pour liquid #1 into the cup followed by liquid # 2 and then liquid #3. In the box below draw how the liquids layer.

#1 is oil, #2 is corn syrup and #3 is water.

Which liquid is most dense? ______

Which liquid is least dense? ______

If you order the numbers from most dense to least dense then you will get the secret code.

Treasure Hunt Part 3

Congratulations! You are almost there. Try the next activity for the secret code. Good Luck!

To Mix or Not to Mix

Key words:density, miscible, immiscible

Directions:

From the last activity, you learned that when liquids have different densities they make layers, or they are immiscible.When liquids have the same density, they will mix together, or are miscible. Let’s see what liquids are miscible and what ones are immiscible.

#1 is water, #2 is oil, #3 is milk, and #4 is alcohol.

Pour #1 and #3 into a cup and then stir. Write down what happens.

Pour #1 and #2 into a cup and then stir. Write down what happens.

Pour #2 and #3 into a cup and then stir. Write down what happens.

Pour #1 and #4 into a cup and then stir. Write down what happens.

1) #1 + #3 ______

2) #1 + #2 ______

3) #2 + #3 ______

4) #1 + #4 ______

What is miscible with water? ______

What is immiscible with water? ______

The secret code is what is immiscible with milk? ______

Treasure Hunt Part 4

Congratulations! You have reached the final activity of the treasure hunt. The secret code to this activity will lead you to the treasure. Good luck!

Which Layer?

Directions:

Using the cup with the layers from Layer Up!, drop in the bead and see where it lands.

Which liquids are more dense than the bead? ______

Which layers are less dense than the bead? ______

The secret code is what won’t the bead be buoyant in? ______

Density Worksheet

1) If the density of air is 1.2 g/cm3, why does a balloon filled with helium float?

2) If you put an egg in water it will sink to the bottom, but when you cook an egg it will float. What happens to the density of the egg when you cook it?

3) The density of water is 1.0 g/cm3, the density of lead is 11.36 g/cm3, the density of aluminum is 2.70 g/cm3 and the density of wood is .60 g/cm3. What would you make a boat out of and why?

***Bonus: What is something sold in a supermarket that is an example of immiscible liquids?