Summary
Why do steel ships float but a steel bolt sinks? Bill explores density and displacement with classic tank demos and a little clay-boat engineering.
Viewer safety
All ages
Common Sense Media — not yet ratedIMDb Parents Guide — not yet rated
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Why do steel ships float but a steel bolt sinks? Bill explores density and displacement with classic tank demos and a little clay-boat engineering..
- What does it mean for something to be dense?
- Predict: will a paperclip float? Why?
- How could you make a lump of clay float?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: density, buoyancy, displacement.
Try it: Shape a piece of foil into a boat and count how many coins it holds before sinking.

