Density Labs in Middle School

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Permalink Reply by Lucas Fox on February 4, 2008 at 4:06pm

Do you talk about the layers of the earth witht he students at all? Because i use a density lab that relates to the layers of the Earth... I give them some iron bars (core), basalt (oceanic crust), granite (continental crust), and shale or slate to make up for the sedimentary rocks that have formed. I have them find the volume by displacment for the rocks, lxwxh for the iron bar... the usual massing and then finding the density.

From there they will average the "crust" density and then they compare it to the "core" and then from there, they average in the "crust " with the "core" and see if they come close to the denisty of the Earth itself. Now they are not only finding the density of objects and practicing that, they are also seeing how density relates to how the layers of the Earth are set up, and how density relates to it. You can also have them find the density of water as well, and then they can relate that to the crust.

You start getting into the concepts of floating and sinking as well. If i can get the lab scanned I will try to post it up for you, so you can "nab" it and see if you like it.

Also welcome to classroom 2.0.

Cheers,

Luke

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Permalink Reply by Sara on February 4, 2008 at 4:26pm

Thank you for the idea. I think this is a great idea, and I could incorporate in to my Earth Surfaces unit. Thanks.
Sara

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Permalink Reply by Lucas Fox on February 4, 2008 at 4:31pm

Not a problem at all. I've been struggling to get away from the same old density labs as well, and I've been finding some interesting places to pop it into my curriculum and lessons, so that it's not just by itself but with another concept in which it relates and is important! :)

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