Things Needed:
Two Oranges
Two glasses, large enough for an orange
Water at room temperature
Directions:
Place both the glasses on the table.
Fill half of each glass with water.
Take an orange and remove its peel.
Place the peeled orange in one of the glasses and the unpeeled one in the other glass.
Observe what happens. Does the orange with the peel float or sink? What happens to the peeled orange?
How does it work?
Buoyancy is the tendency of an object to float or sink in water or any other liquid. When a peeled orange is placed in water, it sinks. The unpeeled orange floats on the water. This happens because the unpeeled orange has a porous peel which contains tiny air pockets.
These air pockets make the orange seem less dense than water, causing it to float. The peeled orange sinks to the bottom of the glass, as removing the peel removes the air pockets, making the orange denser than water.