Contextualization

Hydrostatics is a specialization within Physics that is dedicated to the study of fluids at rest or in very slow motion. It is a fundamental concept for understanding many of the phenomena that occur around us. Atmospheric pressure, the operation of a fire extinguisher, the floating of a ship, and even how fish swim are all examples of practical applications of hydrostatics.

In this project, we will focus on two main concepts of hydrostatics: pressure and buoyancy. Pressure is the force applied per unit area and buoyancy is the vertical force that a fluid exerts on a body that is inside it.

Hydrostatics acts as a basis in various areas of engineering and science, such as civil engineering (to calculate the pressure on the foundations of a building, for example), hydraulic engineering (to design pipelines that transport water, oil or gas), medicine (to understand human blood flow and applications of syringes) and many other fields.

To delve into the subject and have a complete overview, I suggest the following readings and resources:

• Book "Fundamentals of Physics" by Halliday and Resnick.
• Website "Brasil Escola" In this link you will find a series of articles on Hydrostatics.
• Youtube channel "Física Universitária" where you can find explanatory videos about Pressure and Buoyancy.

Practical Activity

Title of the Activity: "Unveiling Hydrostatics: The DIY Submarine"

Project Objective

Investigate and understand the concepts of pressure and buoyancy through the construction of a DIY Submarine. This project challenges students to apply the theory of hydrostatics in solving practical problems and observe how these concepts work in the real world.

Detailed Description of the Project

In this experiment, students will build a DIY submarine using simple and common materials. The submarine must be able to float, sink and resurface, demonstrating the concepts of pressure and buoyancy in practice.

The activity should be carried out by groups of 3 to 5 students and it is estimated that each student should spend between five to ten hours to complete the project, including research, planning, construction of the submarine, execution of the experiment and writing of the report.

Materials required

1. Bottle with screw cap (500 ml to 1L)
2. Straw (preferably of rigid plastic)
3. Modeling clay
4. Water
5. Bucket or large container
6. Adhesive tape
7. Scissors

Detailed step-by-step instructions for carrying out the activity

1. Fill the bucket or container with water.
2. Cut a piece of straw approximately 15 cm long.
3. Glue one end of the straw to the bottle cap with tape, so that the straw is outside the cap when it is screwed onto the bottle.
4. Insert the modeling clay into the other end of the straw.
5. Fill the bottle with water up to half of its volume.
6. Screw the cap with the straw onto the bottle.
7. Place the submarine in the container with water and observe what happens. If necessary, adjust the amount of water in the bottle or the amount of modeling clay on the straw so that the submarine floats.
8. To make the submarine sink, move the modeling clay on the straw so that more air enters the bottle.
9. To make the submarine resurface, move the modeling clay back to the end of the straw, allowing water to enter the bottle.
10. Make observations and notes on the behavior of the submarine at each stage, considering the concepts of pressure and buoyancy.

Project Submissions

At the end of the project, each group must submit a written report containing the following elements:

1. Introduction: In this section, students should introduce and contextualize the topic, explain its relevance, discuss its application in the real world and state the objective of the project.

2. Development: Here, students should detail the theory behind the concepts of hydrostatics explored in the project (pressure and buoyancy), describe the experiment performed, explain the methodology used and present and discuss the results obtained.

3. Conclusion: In this part, students should revisit the main points of the work, explain what they have learned and draw conclusions about the project.

4. Bibliography: Students should list all the sources of information they used to carry out the work, including books, web pages, videos, etc.