Buoyancy is the ability to float in a liquid such as water. Archimedes’s experience with water displacement in the bath gave rise to Archimedes’s Principle, which states that the upward buoyant force, or push, exerted on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid the body displaces. In technical terms, buoyancy is the upward force exerted by a fluid on a body when the body is immersed in the fluid.

Part A
Making use of Archimedes’s Principle, displacements, and buoyancy, explain why some objects float on water, but others do not. Use the diagram to help you decide.

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Part B
The Titanic is one of the most famous passenger ships in history. Search the Internet to determine how much the Titanic weighed in metric tons.

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Part C
The hull of a ship should be the only portion of a ship that is below the water. Therefore, at a minimum, how many tons of sea water should the hull of the Titanic displace while it’s in water?

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Part D
Search the Internet to find the density of surface sea water in kilograms/cubic meter.

Part E
Convert the density of surface sea water to metric tons/cubic meter. Use the Internet to look for the proper conversion factor, if needed.

Part F
Based on your calculations so far, how many cubic meters of water did the hull of the Titanic have to displace to stay afloat