Grade Level: 

Fourth Grade

Content Area: 

Science

Standards: 

4.5 - Develop and use models to describe amplitude and wavelength patterns and how waves can cause objects to move. 

Objective:

In this task students came up with a hypothesis to test and see how different liquids (room temperature water, hot water, and vinegar) affect the distance and speed a soap propelled boat made of different materials (paper, cardboard, soft foam, or egg carton) can travel.

In this investigation, students developed a testable hypothesis to examine how various liquids—specifically room-temperature water, hot water, and vinegar—impact the distance traveled and speed achieved by a soap-propelled boat. The boats, constructed from different materials such as paper, cardboard, soft foam, and recycled egg cartons, allowed students to analyze how material properties and liquid conditions influence motion and performance. 

Directions:

Students were first tasked to label containers with the liquid until each was about 2 inches deep. The students then cut boats out of each material. Students then added a small dab of dish soap to the notch of each boat. A student then placed one of the boats in container of liquid, while others timed and recorded the amount of time it took each boat of varying materials, to travel in the three different types of liquid. The tested time was 10 seconds and the length was tested in a container 13 inches long.

The students found that, after testing 4 different boats in 3 types of liquid, that the soft foam and paper plate boats both moved quicker than paper and egg carton boats. The students also observed that the boats, no matter the material, moved faster when in the vinegar.