Exploring Gravity's Effect on Ship Stability
In 2017, Jennifer Smallwood sailed on a Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (FOCI) research cruise, which was conducting a juvenile walleye pollock survey in the Gulf of Alaska. Learn more about Jennifer’s experience aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson by reading her NOAA Teacher at Sea blogs.
Grade Level: 11-12th grade
Subjects (Focus/Topic): Physics – naval architecture, stability, center of gravity, flotation, buoyancy, weighted average
Average Learning Time: 30 minutes
Description: Students will be able to describe the role of a naval architect and provide 2 real world job opportunities. Students will be able to describe how center of gravity applies to engineering and everyday life. Students will determine the location of gravity given multiple loads of varying masses with 80% accuracy. Students will determine the gravity value with a precision of three significant figures.
