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Floating Paper Clips
ZOOMsci Index | your results | list of activities
Sent in by:
Katherine L. of Edmonton, AB, Canada
Fast dips sink clips! Can you make a paper clip float?
- bowl of water
- paper towels
- paper clips
1. Drop a paper clip in a cup of water. What happens?
2. Tear off a piece of paper towel that is slightly larger than the paper clip.
3. Place the piece of paper towel on top of the water.
4. Gently place another paper clip on the piece of paper towel. Wait a few seconds. Now what happens?
If you drop a paper clip in water, the paper clip sinks. But if you put the paper clip on a piece of paper towel, the paper towel sinks and the paper clip floats. This is because water particles are attracted to each other in all directions, making them "stick" together. However, because there are no water particles above them, the water particles at the surface "stick" only to particles next to and below them. This makes the surface act as if it had a thin "skin". This is called surface tension. The paper towel helps you to lower the paper clip onto the surface gently without breaking the surface tension. If you're very careful, you can float the paper clip on the water without using the paper towel.
Now it's time for you to experiment. What happens if you add a drop of liquid soap to the water while the paper clip is floating? Or, what happens if you put the paper clip in another liquid, like vegetable oil or soda water? Share your thoughts with other ZOOMers by sending them to ZOOM through our special feedback area. We'll post a whole bunch of them right here every week!
You can also send us your pictures or video of this ZOOMsci:
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Pricie, age 10 of New Waterford, OH wrote:
When I put in the first paperclip it sank then I put toilet paper over it and dropped an other paperclip in and it floated then I put a drop of soap in and it sank!!!
Race, age 6 of Slatington, PA wrote:
I got ten big paper clips to float.
Portia, age 12 of Jackson, MS wrote:
I used different size paperclips. The smaller ones floated the bigger one sunk.
Diana, age 10 of Passaic, NJ wrote:
When I dropped the first paperclip it sank. Then I put the small piece of paper towel on the surface of the water and I dropped the second paperclip and nothing worked! I was dissapointed that it just didn't float! Boo-hoo.
Juliet, age 12 of Tucson, AZ wrote:
It worked and was cool until I add the soap! And after that it wouldn't float agin. Why?
Erica, age 8 of Boothwyn, PA wrote:
It sunk and the paper towel disformed.
Priya, age 11 of Richmond, BC wrote:
I did this experiment in front of my class. When I did it, the paperclip stayed up like yours did.
Gisselle, age 10 of Moreno Valley, CA wrote:
I did it with veatgeble oil and I did it the way you did. It looked like it was floating, but it wasn't. It was sinking a little bit.
Claire & Sarah, age 9 of Raleigh, NC wrote:
We tried paper towels, which held five paper clips without sinking, cardstock which held all 11 paper clips, newspaper which held nine paper clips, and toilet paper which held two without sinking. (Two of us did this experiment.)
Lena, age 10 of Brooklyn, NY wrote:
When I put in the paperclip it sink, but when I put in another paperclip it float, and I don't even need a papertowel to keep it from sinking, it just floated when I put the paperclip inside the bowl.
James, age 7 of Alpine, CA wrote:
When I got paper clips in the water, I thought I wouldn't get any paper clips to float. Then I got one floating without using the paper towels. My Dad still can't do it! Also, I can do it with the paper towel. Cool!
Kayla, age 10 of Springdale, AR wrote:
It just floated at the top, I just put some paper at the end, and it just floated at the top of the pool!!!
Virniecia, age 9 of Houston, TX wrote:
I love watching your show. When I did the Floating Paper Clips; the paper clips kept sinking but I don't know why; I did it the same way but they still keep sinking.
Jean, age 9 of Richmond, BC wrote:
When I did it, it floated but instead of waiting for the papertowel to go down I pushed it down and it worked too!
Jessica, age 9 wrote:
I put the paper clips on the papertowel and when I did it worked! Then I added some soap to the water while the paper clips were floating and they sunk.
Aubrey, age 10 of Wauseon, OH wrote:
Some of my paper clips sank, but I got some to flote. It was awesome!!!
Brandi, age 11 of Cottonwood, AZ wrote:
Well, I tried just leaving the paperclip on the paper towel and about 10 seconds later the paper towel sunk to the bottom of the water and the paperclip floated. I also tried to float more than one paperclip on the same paper towel at the same time and I ended up floating 4 paperclips at one time. Then I left them there to see how long the paperclips would float and they floated about an hour. I thought that was very cool! I would definitely do it again!
Shoshi, age 10 of East Windsor, NJ wrote:
I tried the Floating Paper Towels and I found a new way to do it!! If you blow it down fast then it will float. Then make sure it doesn't touch with the paper towel so the paper clip doesn't move.
Hanjoon, age 9 of Bronx, NY wrote:
I tried it with staples instead of clips and it worked good! I also tried it with photo paper but it did not work out.
Tommy, age 5 of Cheyenne, WY wrote:
It worked good in the beginning. After a few seconds it sunk to the bottom how come?
Nina, age 12 of Stonemountain, GA wrote:
The paper clips float that was cool I had to teach my science teacher and classmate.
Jian, age 10 of New York City, NY wrote:
It worked!! The paper clips floated for awhile before it sank.
Sarah, age 5 of Littleton, CO wrote:
I tried floating paper clips, a small stone, and a magnet- they sank. I tried paper - it floated til it was soaked and then it sank. I tried plastic beads and a toothpick and they FLOATED!
Amanda, age 9 of Willmington, DE wrote:
I fownd a new way to make the paper clip flote. You take a paper clip and pull the middle and make the paper clip look like a capital L. Place anothe paper clip on the biger end of the paper clip L. Slowly use the other end as a handle and lower the paper clip in.
Margot, age 6 of Hatfield, MA wrote:
I tried floating paper clips. It worked sometimes, but I also did it with my fingers. I balanced the paper clip on my finger, and then let my finger slowly go down. Sometimes it would work that way too. It worked both ways.
Kelly and Chris, age 9 of Dayton wrote:
We put a sample size pack of crest toothpaste for kids instead of the paperclip and it worked just the same. When we dropped it in without the paper towel it had went straight to the bottom.
Emily, age 12 of Dunnville, ON wrote:
When I did this experiment I noticed that when you took the paper towel away that where litle bubbles in the middel I think that was what was holding it up.
Sheridan, Aidan & Joah of Spokane wrote:
We saw the floating paper clips experiment and would like to challenge you to try making a popcorn kernel float with: popcorn kernels, paper towels and a bowl full of water. Have a good time trying it!
Samantha, age 9 of Inglewood, CA wrote:
I floated the paper clips but then I saw the water particles gathering together.
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