First Experiment: Floating Paper Clips

­Lab Design Sheet

Name of Experiment: Floating Paper Clips

                             

Question to be answered: Is it possible to make paper clips float by bending them at a 90 or 180 degree angle?

Prior Knowledge: We read on the internet here that if paper clips are bent at a 90 or 180 degree angle then they should float in water. However, we also know that paper clips are more dense than water and should, therefore, sink.

Hypothesis

Prediction: If a paper clip is bent at a 90 degree angle, then it will float…

Rationale: … because the bent portion of the paper clip is used as a stabilizer and the amount of its surface area in contact with that of the water is reduced.

Variables

Independent variable: The shape of each paper clip.

Dependent variable: Whether the paper clips sink or float based on their shape.

Constants: Same beakers, amount of water, and brand and size of paper clip; where/how we drop the paper clips; we will use gloves to prevent the oils on our skin from coming in contact with the paper clips.

Equipment:

• Three 500 ml beakers,
• 400 ml of water,
• Twelve paper clips (6 large without plastic coating and 6 small with plastic coating), and
• Rubber gloves.

Procedure:

1. Set up materials
1. Arrange equipment
2. Fill all three beakers with 400 ml of water.
2. Bend paper clips
1. Put on gloves
2. Bend 2 “plain” or “large” paper clips to 90 degrees and bend 2 “plain” paper clips to 180 degrees, leaving 2 unbent
3. Repeat bending process with “small,” plastic-coated paper clips.
3. Execute experiment with large paper clips
1. Drop 1 unbent paper clip into a beaker from a height of 5 cm
2. Repeat once for each remaining paperclip shape, reserving a beaker for each shape
1. Record results
2. Remove paper clips from beakers and replace any spilled water
3. Repeat with remaining large paper clips
1. This time, paper clips should be placed in the water
2. Record results
3. Remove paper clips from water
4. Execute experiment with small paperclips
1. Repeat above steps with small or “plain” paper clips
5. Clean up
6. Record and analyze results

DATA:

paperclip	unbent	90 degree angle	180 degree bent
large 1	fail	fail	fail
large 2	fail	fail	fail
small 1	fail	fail	fail
small 2	fail	fail	fail

ANALYSIS: We attempted to make paper clips float by bending them at various angles. According to an online source, paper clips bent into a right or straight angle should float on water. However, our experiment was unsuccessful; all of the paper clips, in various configurations and sizes, sank.

CONCLUSION: The paper clips did not float because the surface tension of water is not great enough to support such dense objects. The information found online was inaccurate or did not reliably portray the means by which a paper clip can be made to float. If we were to return to our hypothesis, two possible ways to change the outcome would be, first, to use entirely plastic paper clips, as these are less dense than metal or partly metal paper clips; and, second, if the first strategy was unsuccessful, to float both metal and plastic, bent and unbent, paper clips in salt water because salt water is more buoyant than regular water. As a last recourse we could use a tissue to float the paper clip, which is another method found online.