Sink or Float Density Column

Work through the example in the box before students start the problems. On the column sheet, have students order the liquids first, then test each object against the layers from the top down.

Place honey, water, oil and alcohol in a column, then show where a grape and a steel nut come to rest. The directions on the page read: Read the text and the tables. Write each liquid in its layer box. Then draw and label each object where it comes to rest. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade matter, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with density. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Water is 1 g/cm³ on these pages. Objects less dense than water float and denser objects sink.

Mass equals density times volume, and volume equals mass divided by density. A rock with a density of 2 g/cm³ and a volume of 15 cm³ has a mass of 30 g.

The densest liquid sinks to the bottom and the least dense liquid floats on top. In the column on Sink or Float Density Column, honey at 1.4 g/cm³ is the bottom layer and rubbing alcohol at 0.8 g/cm³ is the top.