Daryn Collen
Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________
DENSITY SLICE & DICE GIZMO LAB
An investigation of size and shape affecting density
Vocabulary: density, mass, matter, volume
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
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
into water? ________________________________________________________________
they would still float because size and shape do not affect density
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.
1. Check that Polystyrene is selected. Drag the
whole polystyrene piece into the water.
float
Does it sink or float? _____________________
2. Click Reset, and then click Slice to cut the
polystyrene into pieces. Drag each piece into the
water and then back to the block.
What happens? it_________________________
still floats
it does not depend
3. How do you think the amount of a material affects its tendency to sink or float? __________
on the amount.
_________________________________________________________________________
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.
Question: How does density depend on the amount of material?
it does not
1. Form hypothesis: How do you think cutting up a material will affect its density? __________
because size and shape do not affect density.
_________________________________________________________________________
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.
Piece Mass (g) Volume (cm3) Density (g/cm3)
1 2.53 g 12.6 cm 3 0.2 g/cm 3
2 0.88 g 4.4 cm 3 0.2 g/cm3
3 1.32 g 6.6 cm 3 0.2 g/cm3
4 2.55 g 12.8 cm 3 0.2 g/cm3
5 (if available) —————————————————————————————————————
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
