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Cub Scout Adventures > 
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 Super Science > 
Sink or Swim
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Bear – 3rd Grade
Super Science
Elective
Requirement 2

Sink or Swim

Bear – 3rd Grade
Super Science
Elective
Requirement 2

Sink or Swim

Snapshot of Activity

Cub Scouts learn about experiment variables.

Indoor
2
2
2
If you want to know more about The Adventure Activity Key click here.
  • Sink or Swim Chart found in Additional Resources or Bear handbook
  • Printer
  • Pencil or pen, one for each Cub Scout
  • Three large clear cups that hold about 12 ounces each, all the same size
  • Three fresh eggs
  • 2 tablespoons of salt
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • Water
  • Spoon

Before the meeting:

  1. Gather supplies.
  2. Print a Sink or Swim Chart for each Cub Scout or use the chart in the Bear handbook.
  3. Set up meeting space to conduct experiment including covering the tabletop.

During the meeting:

  1. Explain to Cub Scouts that they will be conducting an experiment to see if changing the water will make an egg sink or float.
  2. Conduct the experiment with Cub Scouts help:
    • Fill all three cups half full of water.
    • Stir the salt into the first cup and the sugar into the second cup.
    • Leave the third cup alone.
    • On the Sink or Swim chart, have Cub Scouts, write down what they think will happen when adding an egg to each cup. Will it sink or will it swim?
    • Add an egg to each cup.
    • Observe what happens to each egg and ask Cub Scouts to write down the results.
  3. Lead a discussion with Cub Scouts:
    • Did your prediction match the actual outcome?
  4. Explain to Cub Scouts that this investigation shows how scientists use variables. A variable is something that changes. By changing just one variable at a time, you proved how sugar and salt affect how eggs float. The plain water is called the control because it doesn’t change. Since the control is the same in each cup, we can use it to compare the results with the salt and the sugar

Additional Resources

Sink or Swim Chart

Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.