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Ocean Research Vessel

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Grades 6-875-90 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Teams design a miniature sampling device that can survive being lowered into deep water, balancing the pressure it will face against the buoyancy it needs to float back up.

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Prep: 10 minActivity: 30 min1 session~$0/groupOne table or a clear section of floorBeginner-friendly

Setup

Print or hand-copy the essential prompt for Ocean Research Vessel, then set out only paper, pencils, and the common or recycled items needed for one test. Use a tabletop representation whenever the original version mentions a room, specialized device, or digital tool; the learning comes from the decisions and evidence, not elaborate scenery.

Activity

  1. Define the central success test in Ocean Research Vessel and make a paper planning sheet for the inputs, actions, and expected result.
  2. Represent the system without electronics by using labeled cards, paper controls, tokens, a ruler, or a student acting as the device; follow the same cause-and-effect rules described in the project.
  3. Run at least three cases, including one difficult or unexpected case, and record starting conditions, controlled variables, measurements, and changes over time.
  4. Revise one rule, layout, mechanism, or decision after the failed case, repeat it, and explain with the recorded evidence whether the change worked.

Done when: The group has completed Ocean Research Vessel when it can present the final device design to a research team, explaining how it balances pressure and buoyancy and point to the observation, measurement, comparison, or trial that supports its conclusion.

Materials

plastic bottles, clay or fishing weights, string, waterproof bags, large tub for water testing

Shown for the Quick Start version — switch tabs above to see what changes.

Disclosure: Materials links below go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Steps

  1. Study how real ocean sampling devices handle pressure and predict what will happen to an air-filled container at depth.
  2. Build a sampling device designed to sink to a target depth, collect a sample, and float back to the surface.
  3. Test it in a tub of water, find it sinks too fast or won't resurface, and adjust the weight and buoyancy balance.
  4. Present the final device design to a research team, explaining how it balances pressure and buoyancy.

Standards it satisfies

  • NGSS · MS-PS2-1

    Apply Newton's Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.