Curated OER
Build Your Own Submarine
Students construct their own submarine following a certain procedure. For this physics lesson, students calculate the density of objects using a mathematical formula. They explain why some object floats in water while some do not.
Curated OER
Ups and Downs of Diving
Students explore the science and sport of scuba diving. In this scuba diving lesson, students build Cartesian divers and observe their behavior under water pressure.
Curated OER
Air Pressure
Students examine air pressure. In this air pressure instructional activity, students perform a series of experiments to evaluate the effects of air pressure.
Curated OER
Pressure, Density and Buoyancy
Students investigate how changing pressure affects density. In this physics instructional activity, students explain the relationship between density and pressure. They observe the Cartesian diver in the lab as pressure is changed inside.
Curated OER
Strength of Water
Students perform experiments using flexible bottles of water and eyedroppers partially filled and placed in the bottle. They record what happens when they tighten the bottle lid and squeeze the bottle.
Curated OER
Activity #15 The Cartesian diver
Students comprehend that the Cartesian diver is a dropper and the water and air inside it. They vary the volume of the air and the amount of water, the diver can be made to be either more or less dense than water. Pupils squeeze the...
Curated OER
Condiment Diver
Pupils create a Cartesian diver out of a bottle of water and a condiment packet (soy sauce, ketchup, etc.) They observe what happens to the packet as they squeeze the bottle and determine which types of condiment packets make the best...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Cartesian Diver
Students observe Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle, and the ideal gas law as a Cartesian diver moves within a closed system.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Cartesian Diver Race
In this lab, students will have to build a Cartesian diver to bring to class to race. I do this as an introduction to the gas laws, specifically Boyle's Law which deals with volume and pressure of gas at the same temperature. The...
PBS
Pbs Kids: Cartesian Diver
This PBS site shows users how they can make their own cartesian divers, discover how it works, and have some fun at the same time.
Science Bob Pflugfelder
Science Bob: Make a Cartesian Diver!
This site presents a procedure for creating a cartesian diver, a miniature submarine which rises or sinks depending upon the water pressure within a closed bottle. The site also introduces basic concepts of water and air pressure.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Condiment Diver
Use a condiment packet as a Cartesian diver to show how pressure changes cause the "diver" to float, sink or hover.