Name_______________________________________________________ Date_____________ Period______
PhET Density Simulation Student Sheet
Visit: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/density and open the simulation.
Warm-Up Directions: Play and explore for 5 minutes to familiarize yourself with the application.
Change the values, move the triangles to adjust the mass and volume, change the materials using the drop
down menu, and select different blocks from the menu on the right.
Activity 1: Practice Adjusting the Mass and Volume
1. Click the reset all button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Custom in the Blocks menu in the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Check the ‘My Block’ option in the material box.
4. Set the mass of your object to 4 kg by typing the number 4.00 in the white box.
5. Adjust the volume to 2.43 L by sliding the green volume triangle.
6. Read the density of the block by looking at the white box under the red triangle.
What is the Density of My Block in kg/L? ________ Does the block sink or float in water?____________
Activity 2: Custom Section
1. Click the reset all button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Use the drop down menu to change the material as you fill in Data Table 1 below.
3. Do not change the values for mass or volume and do not move the green triangles for this
section!
Activity 2 Data Table: Mass, Volume, and Density of Custom Section Materials
Material
Mass (kg)
Volume (L)
Density (kg/L)
Does it sink or
float in water?
Styrofoam
Wood
Ice
Brick
Aluminum
TEKS 6.12(B) Calculate density to identify an unknown substance
1
Name_______________________________________________________ Date_____________ Period______
Activity 3: Same Mass Section
1. Click the reset all button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Same Mass from the Blocks menu in the top right corner of the screen. The mass of each
box is 5 kg for this section. The initial (starting) volume of water in the tub is 100.00 L.
3. Drop the blue box into the tub and find the final volume of the water. You will need to drag the box
to the bottom if it floats in order to find the correct volume. Write the final volume of the water in
your data table.
4. Find the volume of the box by displacement (see sample calculation below) and write this value in
the data table.
5. Find the density of the box by dividing (see sample calculation below) and write your answer in
the data table.
6. Does the box sink or float in water? Write your response in the data table.
7. Repeat these directions for the yellow, green, and red boxes to complete the Activity 3 Data Table.
Activity 3 Data Table: Finding Volume by Displacement and Density of Materials
Material
Mass
Final
Initial
Final Volume (L)
Mass ÷
(kg)
Volume
Volume
- Initial Volume (L) Volume =
(L)
(L)
Volume of Box (L)
Density
(kg/L)
Blue Box
Yellow Box
Green Box
Red Box
5 kg
100.00 L
5 kg
100.00 L
5 kg
100.00 L
5 kg
100.00 L
Sample Calculations for Volume of Blue Box:
105.00 L
Final volume
– 100.00 L
–Initial volume
5.00 L
Volume of Box
Does it
sink or
float in
water?
Sample Calculations for Density of Blue Box:
mass ÷ volume = Density
5.00 kg ÷ 5.00 L = 1.00 kg/L
How did you calculate the volume of each box? __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How did you calculate the density of each box? ___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What did you notice about the blue box when you dropped it in the water? ___________________________________
TEKS 6.12(B) Calculate density to identify an unknown substance
2
Name_______________________________________________________ Date_____________ Period______
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Activity 4: Same Volume Section
1. Click the reset all button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Same Volume from the Blocks menu in the top right corner of the screen. The volume of
each box is 5.00 L for this section.
3. Read the mass in the bottom left corner of the blue box and record it in the data table.
4. Calculate the density of the blue box (see sample calculation below) and record it in the data table.
5. Drop the blue box into the water to determine if it sinks or floats and record your observation in
the data table.
6. Repeat these directions for the yellow, green, and red boxes to complete the Activity 4 Data Table.
Activity 4 Data Table: Finding Density of Materials with the Same Volume
Material
Mass (kg)
Volume (L)
Density
Does it sink or
(kg/L)
float in water?
Blue
Yellow
Green
Red
5.00 L
5.00 L
5.00 L
5.00 L
Sample Calculations for Density of Blue Box:
mass ÷ volume = Density
6.00 kg ÷ 5.00 L = 1.20 kg/L
Look at the densities of the boxes that sink in the water. How do these numbers compare to the densities
of the boxes that float in the water? (Sentence Stem: The densities of the boxes that sink in water are
greater than/less than…) ___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What must be true about the density of an object in order for it to sink? _______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What must be true about the density of an object in order for it to sink? _______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEKS 6.12(B) Calculate density to identify an unknown substance
3
Name_______________________________________________________ Date_____________ Period______
Activity 5: Same Density Section
1. Click the reset all button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Same Density from the Blocks menu in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Read the mass in the bottom left corner of the blue box and record it in the data table.
4. Drop the blue box into the tub and find the final volume of the water. You will need to drag the box
to the bottom if it floats in order to find the correct volume. Write the final volume of the water in
your data table.
5. Find the volume of the box by displacement (see sample calculation below) and write this value in
the data table.
6. Find the density of the box by dividing (see sample calculation below) and write your answer in
the data table.
7. Does the box sink or float in water? Write your response in the data table.
8. Repeat these directions for the yellow, green, and red boxes to complete the Activity 4 Data Table.
Activity 5 Data Table: Finding Density of Substances using Mass and Volume
Material
Mass (kg) Final
Initial
Density
Does it sink or
Volume (L) Volume (L)
(kg/L)
float in water?
Blue
Yellow
Green
Red
100.00 L
100.00 L
100.00 L
100.00 L
Sample Calculations for Volume of Blue Box:
103.75 L
Final volume
– 100.00 L
– Initial volume
3.75 L
Volume of Box
Sample Calculations for Density of Blue Box:
mass ÷ volume = Density
3.00 kg ÷ 3.75 L = 0.80 kg/L
Which two boxes float? ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Explain why both of these boxes float even though they are different sizes. ___________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEKS 6.12(B) Calculate density to identify an unknown substance
4
Name_______________________________________________________ Date_____________ Period______
Activity 6: Mystery Section
1. Click the reset all button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Mystery from the Blocks menu in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Pick up Box B (the blue box) and put it on the scale. Record the mass of Box B in the data table.
4. Drop the blue box into the tub and find the final volume of the water. You will need to drag the box
to the bottom if it floats in order to find the correct volume. Write the final volume of the water in
your data table.
5. Find the volume of the box by displacement (see sample calculation below) and write this value in
the data table.
6. Does the box sink or float in water? Write your response in the data table.
7. Click the Show Table button in the top right corner of the screen.
8. Compare the density you calculated for box B to the densities of the known substances in the table.
Find the name of the material that matches the density you calculated. Write the identity of B in
the data table.
Activity 6 Data Table: Identifying Unknown Substances by Density
Material Mass
Final
Initial
Density Does it sink or What is the identity
(kg)
Volume (L) Volume (L) (kg/L)
float in water? of the substance?
A
B
C
D
E
100.00 L
100.00 L
100.00 L
100.00 L
100.00 L
Sample Calculations for Volume of Blue Box:
101.00 L
Final volume
–100.00 L
– Initial volume
1.00 L
Volume of Box
Sample Calculations for Density of Blue Box:
mass ÷ volume = Density
0.64 kg ÷ 1.00 L = 0.64 kg/L
How did you calculate the density of each mystery box? _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How did you determine the identity of the mystery substances? ________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEKS 6.12(B) Calculate density to identify an unknown substance
5
Name_______________________________________________________ Date_____________ Period______
Activity 7: Extension
1. Click the reset all button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Custom in the Blocks menu in the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Check the ‘My Block’ option in the material box.
4. Use the green arrows to change the mass and volume of the block to solve the problems below.
Density Practice:
1. Move the mass rider to the 10.00 kg position and leave the volume rider in the 5.00 L position.
What is the density of the substance? Use the formula to calculate the density and check your
answer on the computer. What is the identity of the substance?
Density = mass ÷ volume
Density = 10.00 kg ÷ 5.00 L
Density = ________ kg/L
The substance is __________________________
2. Move the mass rider to a new position and leave the volume rider in the 5.00 L position. What new
mass did you choose? What is the density of the substance? Use the formula to calculate the
density and check your answer on the computer. What is the identity of the substance?
Density = mass ÷ volume
Density = __________kg ÷ 5.00 L
Density = __________kg/L
My new mass = _________kg
The substance is ______________________
3. Move the mass rider back to 2.00kg. Move the volume rider to a new position. What new volume
did you choose? What is the density of the substance? Use the formula to calculate the density and
check your answer on the computer. What is the identity of the substance?
Density = mass ÷ volume
Density = __________kg ÷ 5.00 L
Density = __________kg/L
My new volume = _________L
The substance is ______________________
4. Move the mass and volume riders to new positions. What new mass did you choose? What new
volume did you choose? What is the density of the substance? Use the formula to calculate the
density and check your answer on the computer. What is the identity of the substance?
Density = mass ÷ volume
Density = __________kg ÷ __________ L
Density = __________ kg/L
My new mass = _________kg
My new volume = __________ L
The substance is ______________________
TEKS 6.12(B) Calculate density to identify an unknown substance
6