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Interpreting results Boat Density & weight it supports
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:48 am
by HFranklin42
We did the "How much weight can your boat float?" project and are trying to interpret the results. We have 5 boats, the weight each boat supports calculated, and the density of each boat calculated but aren't exactly sure which one is our winner per se. This may be more simple that we realize but can't seem to figure it out. Can anyone help? Thank you!
Re: Interpreting results Boat Density & weight it supports
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:07 pm
by audreyln
Hello,
This sounds like a fun project! If you're looking for a "winner" you can look at which boat held the most pennies (the most weight) before sinking. This should be the boat with the largest volume.
The densities you've calculated for each boat should be about the same (0.7 to 1.3 g/cm3) which is approximately the density of water (1 g/cm3) because each hull will have a density very close to that of water before they sink. See the "What Happened" section at the bottom of the Instructions page for more details.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-act ... structions
Good luck,
Audrey