Drops on a Penny

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In this activity, challenge learners to predict and investigate how many water drops they can fit on one penny. Learners conduct the test three times to find the average number of drops they can fit on a penny. Learners then repeat this process using a nickel, dime, and quarter. Use this activity to demonstrate the principles of surface tension, adhesion/cohesion, and gravity. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
free per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 11
Resource Types:
Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • penny
  • eyedropper
  • cup of water
  • newspaper

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Earth Structure
      • Oceans and Water
  • Mathematics
    • Algebra
    • Data Analysis and Probability
      • Data Analysis
      • Data Collection
      • Data Representation
    • Number and Operations
  • Physical Sciences
    • Chemistry
    • Motion and Forces
      • Gravity
    • States of Matter
      • Liquids
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Atomic Structure
      • Elementary Particles and Nuclear Physics
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations
      • Gathering Data

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, WGBH Educational Foundation, 2002

Funding Sources:

  • National Science Foundation, 0229796
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
  • PBS