26 replies to this topic

[Craig]

I need to make a paper boat that can float with 150-200 pennies on it for my physics class at school. It must be made with A4 (8.5" x 11") paper. So far I have had no luck. The closest I got was with half an origami box that held 87 pennies. If ANYONE has any ideas that could help me please post here. If possible (and would be GREATLY appreciated) post some step by step photos. It doesn't matter what it looks like it just has to float with all those pennies. Thanks to anyone who can help!

[otherworld]

wouldnt a ball shape work the best? If its actually possible

[Craig]

wouldnt a ball shape work the best? If its actually possible

Good idea, but I just did the closest I could to that, a paper cube. Unfortunately it didn't hold many before it sank sank to the the bottom of my bathroom sink. Any more ideas?

[Robert]

How about laying the paper flat on the water and put a penny on it all making sure it's all balanced?

[Ender]

Maybe put a layer of tape on the outside?

[DudeOnline]

I'll give you a tip. It's all about weight distribution. try to make a boat that covers a large area of water, and distribute the pennies evenly.

[Sida]

Any way you could make a boat with a fairly wide bottom?
You could make it kinda like a normal boat, and put it upside down so it's got an air pocket holding it up.

Robert's idea sounds rather good though

Edited by SidaZoid, 10 September 2007 - 02:11 PM.

[Christopher Robin]

Spray it with waterproof shit, and then just lay it on the water, and lay pennies on it. xD

[travis]

Just fold all four corners in so that its like a barge. Just with little edges on it. And distribute evenly. One in each corner and work inwards...

Surface area is what makes it work. The boat has to displace as much as it carries. If it displaces 27.6cu/oz then it can carry 27.6cu/oz.

[Craig]

Good ideas but they have to be real and I am only allowed to use a single piece of A4 paper, a ruler, and scissors. I think I'll ctry that really wide barge thing. I tell you guys if I get it to work....

EDIT:
163! I don't know if that's enough but I'll ask my teacher tomorrow. Thanks Travis. It's funny how stupid the boat ends up looking though.

Edited by Craig, 11 September 2007 - 04:34 PM.

[Bryan]

Well the more the surface area, the better it can float. Because the tension of the water keeps it up.

It's why it's a lot easier to dive into water than a belly flop

[Amiko]

make a box shaped thing, like with the sides bent up so that you get a large area. Then just distribute the weight evenly

[Craig]

250 pennies! WTF? Even with the above design the weight of 250 pennies sinks the boat. I can't put the pennies on first to spread them out because it makes it impossible to put the boat on the water. I can't spread them out while it's on the water because it takes so long to put the pennies on that the boat becomes to soggy to prevent the water from getting in. I need more ideas! The official rules for it are as follows: The only materialsI may use for this project are a single sheet of A4 paper, scissors, a ruller, 2 or less inches of cellophane tape (not actually that helpful though), protractor, and 250+ pennies. The boat must stay aloat for 10 seconds (rounded down to the nearest tenth of a second) after it has stopped bobbing up and down. It's a pass/fail also. It is worth 2 percent of my first quarter Physics grade. HELP!

[Lawivido]

It doesn't say what kind of A4 paper does it? If not, try that super photo quality type where it has a sort of plastic coating, normally used for printing digital artwork.

[nox]

awesome homework assignment, you must have a cool teacher

[koolgrl512]

I know it's already been somewhat said, but I'll put in my two cents (lol, that was a joke >_<)

I'd go with the even weight distribution and a wide bottom on the boat. In theory, that should work the best.

[Craig]

It doesn't say what kind of A4 paper does it? If not, try that super photo quality type where it has a sort of plastic coating, normally used for printing digital artwork.

He provides the paper and I have to build it in front of him in 10 minutes or less.

[phalkon]

200 pennies is a shitload...

what about taping some to the underside of the boat to stabilize and then start putting them on top?

or, can you actually use the ruler as part of the boat?

also, can you put a shitload of salt in the water it'll be floating in? salt helps with displacement. like did you know if you were to jump into the Dead Sea, you would float regardless of how well you can swim or not? it's so salty even fully exhaling you'll still be floating

[Craig]

200 pennies is a shitload...

what about taping some to the underside of the boat to stabilize and then start putting them on top?

or, can you actually use the ruler as part of the boat?

also, can you put a shitload of salt in the water it'll be floating in? salt helps with displacement. like did you know if you were to jump into the Dead Sea, you would float regardless of how well you can swim or not? it's so salty even fully exhaling you'll still be floating

I can only use two inches of tape so taping pennies to the bottom won't work, no the ruler is just for measuring, and no salt 'cause that's "cheating." Oh, and it's 250 pennies.

[Brad]

Damn that's a lot of pennies (ignores the 1000+ pennies in his car).

It's just going to be a lot of practice with balancing the weight, not much else you can do, maybe use the tape to keep it more balanced. This strangely reminds me of a teacher I had who offered 10 marks extra on a test for handing it in as a goose. I'm the only one who pulled it off.

[phalkon]

This strangely reminds me of a teacher I had who offered 10 marks extra on a test for handing it in as a goose. I'm the only one who pulled it off.

wtf


but anyway, back on subject... yeah, the more i think about it, i'd have to agree that it'll pretty much be up to how you balance and distribute the weight.

def let us know how you do!

[Craig]

Well I did my paper boat. At the last minute, my teacher changed it from 250 pennies to 150 pennies, so I passed with ease. I ended up taking a normal sheet of paper and just folding the edges up enough to prevent water from getting on top. I ended up being ridiculously easy in the end. No one in my class failed. Thanks for your advice everyone! It really helped!

P.S.
Just for fun I'm going to actually try to make a paper boat that hold 250 or more pennies. I'll let you guys know how I do on that. (If it doesn't take so long that I'll end up graverobbing this topic....)

[Sean]

At my school in AP Physics, all we do is experiments.

So far we have built a trebuchet, and now we are working on our Balsawood Bridges. After that, it's off to build our potato cannons :]

[Craig]

At my school in AP Physics, all we do is experiments.

So far we have built a trebuchet, and now we are working on our Balsawood Bridges. After that, it's off to build our potato cannons :]

Cool! I built a floating-arm trebuchet for my graduation project!