 |
The tale of Caleb Capsize, whose boat would not float! |
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
Little Caleb Capsize had more toy boats than any other kid at the pool -- he had blue boats and green boats; wooden boats and plastic boats; small boats; big boats; new boats; old boats; plain, polka-dotted, striped, and even plaid boats.
And yet, although he had the most boats, Caleb had the fewest boats that would actually float. Every time he put a boat in the water he would load it up with lots of heavy toys as make-believe passengers and then watch it slip under the water instead of sail away! He knew that not everything in the world was able to float, but he knew that boats could float and he didn‘t know why his would not!
What Caleb didn’t know yet was why certain things floated while other things sank. One day at school, Caleb’s teacher did an experiment which taught all the kids about the way an object and the water it was in each pushed against each other. Caleb learned that boats could float because they’ve been built a certain way that spreads out the weight they carry, allowing the water to have more space and opportunity to push up against the boat as it was pushing down. Plus, when the weight in the boat was more spread out, the water didn’t have to push against as much weight in any one area, and there was a better chance the boat would float!
“I’ve been making my boats too heavy with too many toys!” Caleb exclaimed. “Now I know what I need to do differently so they can float!”
Sure enough, next time Caleb tried putting his boats in the water, he divided up his toys and put a few of them in each of several boats, instead of a whole bunch of them in just one boat. And guess what? The boats all floated! Little Captain Caleb smiled, and then sat down carefully near the edge of the water, to enjoy watching his boats spend a day on the water.
And yet, although he had the most boats, Caleb had the fewest boats that would actually float. Every time he put a boat in the water he would load it up with lots of heavy toys as make-believe passengers and then watch it slip under the water instead of sail away! He knew that not everything in the world was able to float, but he knew that boats could float and he didn‘t know why his would not!
What Caleb didn’t know yet was why certain things floated while other things sank. One day at school, Caleb’s teacher did an experiment which taught all the kids about the way an object and the water it was in each pushed against each other. Caleb learned that boats could float because they’ve been built a certain way that spreads out the weight they carry, allowing the water to have more space and opportunity to push up against the boat as it was pushing down. Plus, when the weight in the boat was more spread out, the water didn’t have to push against as much weight in any one area, and there was a better chance the boat would float!
“I’ve been making my boats too heavy with too many toys!” Caleb exclaimed. “Now I know what I need to do differently so they can float!”
Sure enough, next time Caleb tried putting his boats in the water, he divided up his toys and put a few of them in each of several boats, instead of a whole bunch of them in just one boat. And guess what? The boats all floated! Little Captain Caleb smiled, and then sat down carefully near the edge of the water, to enjoy watching his boats spend a day on the water.