Water Displacement in Parashas Acharei Mos

When the Torah describes the avodah of the Kohein Gadol on Yom Kippur, we learn that he entered the purifying mikvah waters each time he changed his garments for a total of five immersions. When the Kohein immerses in the mikvah, the level of the water rose. This happened because the water was forced to move aside to accommodate his body mass. This is called water displacement. Everything in the world takes up space. A grain of sand takes up a small amount of space while a human takes up a lot of space. Is it possible to measure how much space something takes up? Volume is measured by multiplying length x width x height. If an object has an irregular shape its volume can be measured using the water displacement method. By measuring the water level before and after it has been displaced it is possible to measure the volume of the immersed item. In other words, we can calculate how much space it occupies. In this experiment, the students will submerge the solid objects that have an irregular shape into a container with water. They will calculate the volume of these objects using the water displacement method.