Mass, Volume, and Density:
Wood Whoops?!? or The Case of the Furniture Fix
Christopher Schrenk
Green Brook Middle School
Green Brook, New Jersey
Summer 2004
Research Host:
Dr. Nicola C. Partridge
UMDNJ-Robert Woods Johnson Medical School
Lesson # 19
R#8566
Appropriate citation:
Schrenk, C. Mass, Volume, Density Wood Whoop or The Case of the Furniture Fix (APS
Archive of Teaching Resources Item #8566). [Online]. Bethesda, MD: American
Physiological Society, 2004.
http://www.apsarchive.org/resource.cfm?submissionID=8566.
Editor’s notes:
Website URLs listed in this resource were current as of publication, but may now be
obsolete. If you know of a replacement URL, please suggest it in the resource’s
“Comments” section.
Care should be taken with students working with water.
Disclaimer:
This activity was created by the author and reviewed by the American Physiological
Society. Any interpretations, statements, or conclusions in this publication are those
of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of either the American
Physiological Society or the funding agencies supporting the professional development
program in which the author participated.
Frontiers in Physiology
www.frontiersinphys.org
© The American Physiological Society
Permission is granted for workshop/classroom use with appropriate citation
Mass, Volume, and Density:
Wood Whoops?!? or The Case of the Furniture Fix
Teacher Section
To introduce students to the concept of density as a characteristic property of
matter.
The students will be able to:
Define mass and volume as scientific terms.
Perform an experiment in which the students define procedures for
finding the mass and volume of an object.
Discover that density is one of the characteristic properties of matter
through an inquiry-based investigation.
Understand that density is the relationship between the mass and the
volume of an object.
Successfully complete an assessment of content and process skills by
identifying an unknown.
This activity was designed for sixth-eighth grade students.
K-12:
Unifying Concepts and Processes
Change, constancy, and measurement
Grades 5-8:
Science as Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Understanding about scientific inquiry
Physical Science
Properties and changes of properties in matter
Science and Technology
Abilities of technological design
Understanding about science and technology
Science Standard 2:
All students will develop problem-solving, decision-making, and inquiry skills, reflected by
formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting
systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and
communicating results.
Science Standard 4:
All students will develop an understanding of technology as an application of scientific
principles.
Science Standard 8:
All students will gain an understanding of the structure and behavior of matter.
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Teacher Section
The students should know what mass and volume are in scientific terms. They
should have prior experience in finding the mass and volume of an object.
Students can bring in materials from home before doing Hook activity.
Students (in their groups) can choose how they will present their results
from the Furniture Dilemma experiments.
Variety of activities ensures that students with different learning styles are
engaged during lesson.
All students have furniture of some kind.
All students at some time in their lives will run into a situation such as the
Furniture Dilemma. These events affect them as consumers in ways they
often do not realize. This step can be used to help them understand how
situations like this can hurt them, even if they are not directly involved.
Make sure that the paint you use for the Mystery Objects is lead-free. Check
for any wood-related allergies before proceeding with the lesson. Make sure to
look over your objects before the lab/activity and file down any sharp corners
or points. For the Furniture Dilemma, have the students write out the
procedures step-by-step so that they can be checked carefully for safety
hazards.
What is mass?
What is volume?
What were some of the factors, based on your data that caused an object
to sink or float?
Are mass and volume related? How?
What is meant by a controlled variable?
What would make a website a good resource?
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Teacher Section
Wax blocks*
Transparent plastic blocks
White plastic blocks
Aluminum Blocks
Steel Screws
Copper Cylinders
Nylon Spacer
Mystery Objects (from Mystery Objects Set)*
100-mL graduated cylinders
Metric rulers
Balances (electric or manual)
Calculators (if available)
Wood Blocks (various softwoods and hardwoods cut into 2"x2" squares)
Pieces of cork
Large tub of water (preferably transparent {the tub, not the water})
Floating/Sinking KWL sheets
Internet Treasure Hunt Sheets
Furniture Shop Dilemma Student Handout sheets
Notes on Materials:
* Available from Carolina Biological Supply Co. http://www.carolina.com/stcms/modules/POM.asp.
You can find similar materials at a hardware or home improvement store. The different
materials should be similar sizes, but different densities, so that some will float, while others
will sink.
If you choose not to buy the Carolina materials, then you'll have a little more
prep for this lab/activity.
Visit your local hardware/home improvement store and pick up some copper
pipe (rod would be better if they have it), steel screws (the larger, the
better), and nylon spacers. If they carry plastic sheets, look for some small
ones about ½" to ¾" thickness, and get different kinds if you can. You can
make wax blocks by melting down candles in the microwave (get inexpensive
candles at a “dollar store”). You can also substitute materials that you have
around the lab or in the storeroom. The key is to have materials that look
similar and are of similar sizes, but have different densities, like the two
plastic blocks. You can order the wood from a dealer for a reasonable price
(see Resources section), or you can scrounge around a woodshop (at your
school, the high school or in the community). Lightly spray-paint the wood
blocks so students will not be able to identify the woods based on the grain
pattern or color. Remember that the wood will last, so this is a one-time
expense.
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Teacher Section
Hook
Prepare the transparent tub of water ahead of time and have it out on
your demo desk or lab bench. Use any the following materials or add some
of your own: plastic blocks (the white plastic floats, and the translucent
plastic sinks), wax block, copper cylinder, steel screw, nylon spacer,
aluminum block, cork, and piece of hardwood.
Have the students set up a table/chart- three columns at least, and a row
for each material you have. After they have completed the table, show
each piece of material to the students, making sure to name the material.
Have volunteers come up feel the "weight" of each piece. After recording
this information, ask the students to predict which will float and which
will sink in the water.
Place each material one-by-one into the tub of water. If the tub is clear,
then the students will be able to see if the object if floating or sinking; if
not, then tell the students whether or not the object is floating or sinking.
KWL
Hand out the KWL sheet to the students. Review the results of the Hook
activity with the class. Have an open discussion with the class on 'What We
Know' about floating and sinking, and what the students '… Want to Know'
about floating and sinking. The last section, 'What We Learned', will be filled
out after the mass & volume exploration activity (either as a class or
individually depending on whether you will use it as an assessment).
Exploration of mass and volume of various objects
Give the students the task of determining the mass and volume of the objects
used in the floating and sinking hook. The students must write a hypothesis.
Example: If the objects have high mass but low volume, then they will float.
They already know which objects floated or sank, so that data will need to be
incorporated into this section of the lab/activity. The focus of this section is
for the students to become familiar with writing the hypothesis/guiding
question, procedures, and data collection methods.
The teacher should have out the measurement tools in the classroom for the
students to use if they choose. You should definitely have out a ruler,
graduated cylinders, and balances. Be sure to use the hypothesis and
procedures as checkpoints for moving forward in the exploration.
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Teacher Section
Exploration of mass and volume of various objects, contd.
After the students have completed their data collection, conduct a class
discussion of the results and their predictions. The teacher should try and lead
the discussion to the conclusion that mass and volume are related, and that
they are related in the equation d=m/v.
Ask: "Based on the class results,
What possible ways are mass and volume related?
What were some of the results for objects that sank? Floated?"
As the class discussion wraps up, ask the students to take out the KWL sheet,
and either have the students completed the 'What We Learned' section on
their own (if using this as an assessment), complete the section as a class, or
have new groups complete the section during a Think-Pair-Share.
Note: If you use new objects for this step, make sure to have water and
containers available to the students to conduct the floating/sinking test. I like
to throw new things into the mix, so I use the objects from the Hook, and then
add 2-4 new objects.
Introduction to Problem
Student handouts are available for this step. Introduce the following situation
to the students:
"A local furniture maker, Mr/s. {Insert Name Here}, is under investigation by
the CMQAT (Cabinetry/Furniture Makers Quality Assurance Team) since a few
complaints about his work have come into the organization. The complaints
have charged that Mr/s. {Insert Name Here} has used inferior (and cheaper)
woods in the production of some of his furniture, woods that were not what
was requested by the consumer, and then pocketed the difference in the cost.
The CMQAT has asked for your assistance as an outside expert on woods. You
and your group must brainstorm ways of experimentally determining whether
or not the given materials are the requested wood, or are the cheaper
materials. Write a guiding question for your group, determine what procedures
you will follow, and how you will collect your data. You will need to present
your data and results to the class when your investigation is completed, so
your group might want to decide how you will present as well."
If time allows, have the students get into their cooperative lab groups and
begin writing their guiding questions and procedures. If not, continue this step
with the next class period. Since the hypothesis/guiding questions will be
student-produced, various examples can and will be written by the students.
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Teacher Section
Treasure Hunt
The students will follow an Internet Info Search to research types of woods and
building materials, as well as learn some questions they should ask when
visiting a website to critique it worth as a resource. Hand out the treasure
hunt sheet to the students and review the listed websites. Students can
complete this during a class period, or you can assign the treasure hunt for
homework. Be sure to explain to the students that this is not only research for
their investigation of the Furniture Dilemma, but it is also a lesson in critiquing
websites based on how well the information contained within the site fits with
what the students are searching for.
Investigation of Problem
Make sure to have out and available the measurement tools in the classroom
for the students to use. Have the students check each stage of their
investigation with the teacher (check the guiding question, procedures, data
collection before students to move on to experimentation). Be patient, this
step of the lesson may take one - four days. The important thing is to have the
students create and then execute the plan.
Presentation of Data and Results
The groups should have decided how they wish to present the results to the
class ahead of time. Some examples of ways to present: PowerPoint
presentations, skits, posters, "reports" to the CMQAT, etc. Allow the students
some creative leeway, but make sure they know that they will be graded on
their presentation (if the teacher chooses to do so). After the presentations,
the teacher should lead a quick review of what was discovered about mass,
volume, and density.
The KWL chart is an excellent assessment tool if students fill out the What
I/We Learned section individually.
The presentations that the students give with the results of their Furniture
Dilemma investigation. A rubric can easily be created to grade the students
based on the completeness, clarity, and correctness of their results.
A performance assessment can be given in which the students, using the
content and process skills learned during the lab/activity, must identify a
Mystery Object. They write out a complete procedure for how they will
find out what the Object is made of. They will perform their procedure,
collect the data, summarize their results, and compare their data to a
chart of densities (teacher-created) to identify their Object.
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Teacher Section
Reinforce and expand student understanding of density by looking at the
density of liquids and gases, and how the characteristic property of density
can be used to separate a mixture of substances with different densities.
Good way to segue into mixtures and substances.
Learn more about exotic woods, how over-harvesting of these species has
affected the environment, and what programs are in place to alleviate the
problem.
Give students various projects to build (hypothetically). They can research
the materials, choose the materials, and explain their choices, specifically
why (strength, flexibility, weight, or combination of factors).
Repeat the floating/sinking hook, but use a different substance (ethanol,
concentrated salt water, 20% glycerol solution) to get different results
from the materials. Another good way to segue into density of
liquids/gases.
"STC/MS Module- Properties of Matter"
(http://www.carolina.com/stcms/modules/POM.asp)
"How Dense is It?" Activity- Pam DeCarr (http://mohost.moric.org/title3/learn/dense.htm)
"Math and Science Activity Center"
(http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/mass_volume_density.htm)
"Background on Mass, Weight, and Density"
(http://www.physics.ucla.edu/k-6connection/Mass%2Cw%2Cd.htm)
"What is Density?" (http://www.zyra.org.uk/density.htm)
"Data- List of Densities of Various Substances" (http://www.gkehe.8m.com/data.htm)
"Density Notes- Larry Jones, Pickens County School District"
(http://www.sciencebyjones.com/density_notes.htm)
"Weight of various types of wood" (http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_wood.htm)
"Physical Properties of Common Woods"
(http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/chemdata/woods.htm)
"Lowe's Home Improvement" (http://www.lowes.com)
"Home Depot" (http://www.homedepot.com)
"Hardwood Information Center"
(http://www.hardwood.org/species_guide/display_species.asp)
"West Penn Hardwoods- Exotic Hardwoods"
(http://www.westpennhardwoods.com/exotic/index.php)
"The Woodbox" (http://www.thewoodbox.com)
Carolina Biological Supply Company, 2700 York Road, Burlington, NC 27215-3398
Call: 800-334-5551, Fax: 800-222-7112, http://www.carolina.com
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
What I Learned about
floating and sinking.
What I Know about
floating and sinking.
Name:
What I Want to know about
floating and sinking.
Period:
Student Section
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Student Section
This info search will help you find information about building materials. You will
be looking at pre-selected web sites to answer questions.
Review each web site for information and consider who wrote the site, what
their purpose is in writing it, and the credibility (accuracy) of the information.
What are different types of building materials available?
Web Site
URL
Site 1: http://www.lowes.com
Site 2:
Takes a while to load and requires a zip
code. Click on "Lumber & Building Materials".
http://www.homedepot.com
Click on "Building Materials" or "Lumber".
Who created
this web site ?
Why did they
create it?
(check all that
apply)
†
†
†
†
To provide factual information
To influence the reader’s opinion
To sell a product or service
I’m not sure
†
†
†
†
To provide factual inform ation
To influence the reader’s opinion
To sell a product or service
I’m not sure
How credible
(accurate) do
you think the
info is?
†
†
†
†
Very accurate
Somewhat accurate
Not very accurate
I’m not sure
†
†
†
†
Very accurate
Somewhat accurate
Not very accurate
I’m not sure
What did you
learn?
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Student Section
This info search will help you find information about hardwoods and softwoods.
You will be looking at pre-selected web sites to answer questions.
Review each web site for information and consider who wrote the site, what
their purpose is in writing it, and the credibility (accuracy) of the information.
What are the differences/similarities between softwoods and hardwoods?
What are the physical characteristics of each type of wood?
Web Site
URL
Site 1:
http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/
chemdata/woods.htm
Site 2:
http://www.hardwood.org/
species_guide/display_species.asp
Who created
this web site ?
Why did they
create it?
(check all that
apply)
†
†
†
†
To provide factual information
To influence the reader’s opinion
To sell a product or service
I’m not sure
†
†
†
†
To provide factual inform ation
To influence the reader’s opinion
To sell a product or service
I’m not sure
How credible
(accurate) do
you think the
info is?
†
†
†
†
Very accurate
Somewhat accurate
Not very accurate
I’m not sure
†
†
†
†
Very accurate
Somewhat accurate
Not very accurate
I’m not sure
What did you
learn?
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Student Section
This info search will help you find information about hardwoods and softwoods.
You will be looking at pre-selected web sites to answer questions.
Review each web site for information and consider who wrote the site, what
their purpose is in writing it, and the credibility (accuracy) of the information.
What are the differences/similarities between softwoods and hardwoods?
What are the physical characteristics of each type of wood?
Web Site
URL
Site 1:
http://www.westpennhardwoods.com/
exotic/index.php
Site 2:
http://www.thewoodbox.com
Who created
this web site ?
Why did they
create it?
(check all that
apply)
†
†
†
†
To provide factual information
To influence the reader’s opinion
To sell a product or service
I’m not sure
†
†
†
†
To provide factual inform ation
To influence the reader’s opinion
To sell a product or service
I’m not sure
How credible
(accurate) do
you think the
info is?
†
†
†
†
Very accurate
Somewhat accurate
Not very accurate
I’m not sure
†
†
†
†
Very accurate
Somewhat accurate
Not very accurate
I’m not sure
What did you
learn?
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Student Section
A local furniture maker, Ms. Maplewood, is under investigation by the
CMQAT (Cabinetry/Furniture Makers Quality Assurance Team) since a
few complaints about her work have come into the organization. The
complaints have charged that Ms. Maplewood has used inferior (and
cheaper) woods in the production of some of her furniture, woods that
were not what the consumer requested, and then pocketed the
difference in the cost. The CMQAT has asked for your assistance as an
outside expert on woods. Your group must brainstorm ways of
experimentally determining whether or not the given materials are the
requested wood, or are the cheaper materials.
Guidelines:
Write a hypothesis/guiding question for your group that will direct
your investigation.
Determine what procedures you will follow, and how you will collect
your data. Your experiment cannot take more than two class period to
conduct.
YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PROCEDURES CHECKED BY THE TEACHER BEFORE
BEGINNING YOUR INVESTIGATION.
You will present your data and results to the class when your
investigation is completed, so your group needs to decide how the
results will be presented. You may choose from a PowerPoint
presentation, a skit of you at the CMQAT meeting with Ms. Maplewood,
a poster, or a formal written report to the CMQAT. Regardless of what
you choose, your presentation must include the following: background
research, guiding question, materials, procedure, data, analysis and
results.
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Student Section
Hypothesis/Guiding Question:
Prior Knowledge of Subject/Concept:
Materials:
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
Student Section
Experimental Design/Procedures:
Data:
Christopher Schrenk
Mass, Volume, and Density
©2005 The American Physiological Society.
2004 Frontiers in Physiology Research Teacher
Works in Progress
Permission is granted for duplication for workshop/classroom use.
This page is intentionally left blank.