The Coconut Float

Enos the chimpanzee sat on the beach, his feet squished in the wet sand while waves sloshed in and out like they couldn’t make up their mind. He was thinking about how to build his own sailboat to sail the oceans. He sighed, picked up a round, flat stone, and tossed it out to sea.

Flick! Plop! It sank, just like he did after eating too many bananas. Another stone. Plop! Down it went, straight to the bottom. “Hmph,” Enos grunted. “How am I ever gonna build a boat if everything sinks, besides maybe a leaf? And I can’t build a boat out of leaves!” Then, something caught his eye. Out there, bobbing between the ripples, was half a coconut shell. Just floating along, not even trying. Enos leapt up. “Wait! Why are you floatin’? You’re heavier than a leaf!” He waded out to grab it, but the tide tugged it away with a playful swish. “Fine,” Enos huffed, tromping back to shore. “I’ll find a better coconut.” And just moments later, there it was! Another brown, roundish thing drifting nearby, right at snatching distance. Enos pounced with a triumphant “A-HA!” and wrapped his arms around it. But this one… moved. “YEOW!” something yelped. “Unhand my shell, you fluffy lunatic!” Enos let go and stumbled back with wide eyes. The “coconut” blinked at him, because it had a small, wrinkly head. “You’re… not a coconut,” Enos said. The creature snorted. “Brilliant deduction you hairy mop. I’m a sea turtle, thank you very much. Been mistaken for a rock, a beach ball, and now this. What’s next, a salad bowl?”

Enos scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “Sorry. You just… looked like that other coconut shell I saw floating in the water.” “Of course I did,” the turtle said, flipping lazily upright again. “I float. I’m built for floating." She stoped for a second, then asked "Want to know my secret?” Enos nodded fast. “Yes! I really want to know! I need to know! I want to build a boat.” The turtle's grumpy scowl melted the moment she saw the excitement in Enos's eyes. Her expression softened, and she gave him a warm, knowing smile. “Well then. Sit down, sailor. Time for a lesson in buoyancy.”

“Boo-yancy?” “Yep. When you drop something into water, two forces go head to head: gravity pulling it down, and water pushing it up.” “Gravity,” the turtle added, “is the same thing that keeps you on the ground instead of flying around like a balloon. The Earth pulls you close, like a big invisible hug.” Enos leaned in, wide-eyed. “If something’s heavy and small, like your rocks, gravity wins. Plop. But if it’s light or spread out, like me or that coconut shell, then water has more surface to push against. That push is called the buoyant force. If it’s stronger than gravity, the thing floats!” Enos blinked. “But you’re not hollow like a coconut!” “True,” the turtle grinned. “But I’m wide, full of air in my lungs, and shaped so I spread my weight over more water. That helps the water push me up. Boats are the same. They don’t have to be light, just buoyant.” “Wide… air… not a rock…” Enos whispered, eyes sparkling. “Exactly,” said the turtle, already turning back toward the sea. She waddled a few steps, then glanced over her shell. “And maybe next time,” she smirked, “don’t go hugging random strangers in the ocean, alright?”

Enos laughed. “Thank you! I hope I’ll see you again, in the water! What is you name?” The turtle smiled and said "Muriel" before she dipped her head beneath the surface, and vanished into the waves. Enos stood still for a moment, his brain buzzing. Gravity pulls. Water pushes. If you want to float, you have to let the water win. And maybe, just maybe, coconuts and turtles knew more about boats than he thought.

Experiment with Enos

After hearing Muriel the sea turtle explain how she floats by spreading her weight across the water, Enos got curious. “Can that really be true?” he wondered. “Does shape make something float?” Now it’s your turn to wonder with him. You can explore with Enos how buoyancy works and why the shape of a boat matters!

You’ll need:

• A small piece of aluminum foil

• A bowl or bucket filled with water

• A few small treasures like coins or marbles

First, Enos crumpled the foil into a tight little ball and dropped it in. Plop! It sank straight to the bottom, just like the stones. “Definitely not a boat,” he grumbled. But then, Enos smoothed out the same foil and shaped it into a little boat. Same foil, same weight, just a different shape. He placed it gently on the water… And - it floated! Even better, he added a coin. Then another. And another! He got to three coins before his boat dipped under the waves.

Can you beat Enos? How many coins can your boat carry before it sinks?

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