Density Slice & Dice Gizmo Lab
Density Slice & Dice Gizmo Lab
1. What do you think would happen if you threw a block of polystyrene (Styrofoam™) into the
water? i___________________________________________________________________
think the polystyrene would float in the water
2. What would happen if you broke the Styrofoam up into lots of pieces, then threw the pieces
3. What would happen if you threw a big rock into water? it_____________________________
would sink
4. What would happen if you broke the rock into little pieces, then threw the pieces into water?
it would still sink becausesize and shape do not affect density
_________________________________________________________________________
Gizmo Warm-up
The Density Experiment: Slice and Dice Gizmo
allows you to compare different-sized pieces of the
same material.
2019
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
• Click Reset. Check that Polystyrene is selected.
Slice and dice • A calculator is recommended for this activity.
Introduction: The density of a material is the amount of mass per unit of volume. Density is
calculated by dividing an object’s mass by its volume.
2. Collect data: Click Slice. Choose a piece of polystyrene and drag it onto the Material
investigation tray. Record the mass and volume, then calculate the density by dividing the
mass by the volume. Replace the piece, and then repeat for the remaining pieces.
3. Analyze: What do you notice about the density of the polystyrene pieces? ______________
that they all have the same density
_________________________________________________________________________
0.2 g/cm3
4. Predict: What do you think the density of the whole block of polystyrene is? _____________
5. Test: Click Reset. Drag the whole (uncut) block of polystyrene onto the Material
investigation tray. Record its mass and volume and calculate the density.
7.28 g 36.4 cm3 0.2 g/cm3
Mass: _____________ Volume: _____________ Density: _____________
no
Conclusion: Does the size or shape of an object affect the density of that object? __________
In detail, explain your answer because
____________________________________________________
while i was doing the experiments even when the objects
____________________________________________________________________________
were diffrent sizes and shapes they all had the same density.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2019