Measuring the capacity of origami boats

Syllabus links

Key Stage 2 (age 7 to 11)

What is the volume of an origami boat?

Purpose

This experiment gives children an opportunity to follow step-by-step instructions.

The child will learn how to make origami boats and how to calculate their volume.

You need to know

You will need

a sheet of paper
some paper
a roll of tin foil
tin foil (optional)
a measuring jug
a measuring jug
a pair of scissors
a pair of scissors
a ballpoint pen
a pen
some water
some water
some flour
some flour
some coins
some coins (optional)

Steps

  1. Cut aluminium foil or paper to the following sizes:

    Boat number Dimensions
    1 12 cm x 12 cm
    2 12 cm x 16 cm
    3 15 cm x 15 cm
    4 15 cm x 20 cm
    5 18 cm x 18 cm
    6 18 cm x 24 cm
    7 21 cm x 21 cm
    8 21 cm x 28 cm

  2. Straighten the edges of the main material over a flat surface.

    Unfolded paper on a table

  3. Fold it in half (lengthwise, if applicable).

    Folded paper on a table

  4. Open it up to find a crease in the middle of the paper.

    Paper with a crease

  5. Fold both sides of the crease so that both upper and lower ends of the paper meet right in the middle.

    Paper with one edge folded to the centre Paper with both edges folded to the centre

  6. Now, fold all the corners as shown below in which the upper and lower corners meet exactly in the middle. Crease the folds well.

    One folded corner Four folded corners

  7. Do the previous step again as shown below using the middle crease as guide.

    One corner folded to the middle Four corners folded to the middle

  8. Fold the top and bottom tips so that they meet right in the centre.

    One tip folded to the centre Two tips folded to the centre

  9. Slightly open the material up in the middle as shown below.

    Slightly unfolded paper

  10. Flip the whole thing upside down.

    Boat flipped over

  11. Slightly press the middle crease down, while turning the upper part inside out. This is the tricky part, but you'll find it easy to repeat once done the first time.

    Middle crease pressed down

  12. Do the same to the lower half. Fix and straighten the edges and the sides.

    Completed origami boat

  13. Repeat these steps to create the remaining origami boats.

    Two origami boats
  14. Measure the capacity of each boat.

    15. Hint

    Use measuring cups and water for aluminium boats or measuring cups and flour for paper boats. Make sure to scoop and level out excess flour before transferring content to measuring cup.

  15. Use the table below to record the measurements.

    Number Dimensions Capacity (ounces) Capacity (millilitres)
    1 12 cm x 12 cm
    2 12 cm x 16 cm
    3 15 cm x 15 cm
    4 15 cm x 20 cm
    5 18 cm x 18 cm
    6 18 cm x 24 cm
    7 21 cm x 21 cm
    8 21 cm x 28 cm

Questions

  1. What is the capacity of each origami boat?

Expected answers

  1. The answers depend on a number of factors including materials used, craftsmanship when creating the boats, and accuracy of measuring cups. What's necessary is that the child has measured carefully to arrive in an acceptable calculation.

Explore further (optional)

  1. You could build different boat sizes or use other materials available to you.
  2. You could verify your measurements by using small counters of known mass (weight) such as pennies.

Tips for further exploration

  1. Building different boats is an opportunity to practise these skills some more.
  2. Boat capacity is approximately equal to its water displacement value. By converting boat capacity to the weight of water displaced, you will have an idea how many counters it will take before the boat sinks.
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