Problem Example 1

An object weighs 36 g in air and has a volume of 8.0 cm3. What will be its apparent weight when immersed in water?

Solution:
When immersed in water, the object is buoyed up by the mass of the water it displaces, which of course is the mass of 8
cm3 of water. Taking the density of water as unity, the upward (buoyancy) force is just 8 g.

The apparent weight will be (36 g) – (8 g) = 28 g.

Problem Example 2

A balloon having a volume of 5.000 L is placed on a sensitive balance which registers a weight of 2.833 g. What is the "true
weight" of the balloon if the density of the air is 1.294 g L–1?

Solution:
The mass of air displaced by the balloon exerts a buoyancy force of
(5.000 L) / (1.294 g L –1) = 3.860 g. Thus the true weight of the balloon is this much greater than the apparant weight:
(2.833 + 3.860) g = 6.69 g.

Problem Example 3

A piece of metal weighs 9.25 g in air, 8.20 g in water, and 8.36 g when immersed in gasoline.
a) What is the density of the metal?
b) What is the density of the gasoline?

Solution:
When immersed in water, the metal object displaces (9.25 – 8.20) g = 1.05 g of water whose volume is (1.05 g) / (1.00 g cm–3)
= 1.05 cm3. The density of the metal is thus (9.25 g) / (1.05 cm3) = 8.81 g cm–3.

The metal object displaces (9.25 - 8.36) g = 0.89 g of gasoline, whose density must therefore be (0.89 g) / (1.05 cm3) = 0.85
g cm–3.

Example: a block of wood floats in freshwater with two-fifth of its volume V

Example: an iron object of density 7.8g/cm3 appears 200 N lighter in water than in air.
(a) What is the volume of the object?
(b) How much does it weigh in the air?

Solution: Since the body has become lighter in water so there must be an upward force acting on the object which cancels some of
the downward weight force. In fluids, this force is called floating or buoyancy force.

(a) According to Archimedes' law, 200N is the buoyancy force acting on the body which is obtained by the formula below

As you can see above, one of the main applications of Archimedes' principle is finding the density of an unknown object.

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1. Give an example of buoyant force.

A boat sailing on the river, an iceberg floating on water, a person with a life vest floating
on water, a ship floating on the ocean, a helium balloon rising in the air, etc., are
examples of buoyant force.

2. Buoyant force depends on_______.

A. the colour of the liquid

Answer: B. the density of the liquid

Explanation: Buoyant force of a body depends on the following factors: volume of the
body which is submerged in the liquid or volume of the liquid displaced, the density of
the liquid and acceleration due to gravity. So here, the answer to this question is the
density of the liquid.

3. What causes a buoyant force?

The buoyant force is the upward force acting on an object immersed in a liquid. It is
determined by the volume of an object immersed in the liquid and its density. A greater
upward pressure caused by water underneath an object causes the buoyant force to
increase. We can calculate it by multiplying the mass of water by the weight of the water
displaced.

As explained above, buoyancy is caused by the upward pressure of liquid beneath an

4. Why is swimming in sea water easier than in freshwater?

Swimming in seawater is easier than swimming in freshwater because seawater contains

5. What is Archimedes’ principle?

Archimedes’ principle states that the upward buoyant force exerted on a body immersed
in a fluid, whether partially or fully submerged, is equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced by the body and acts upward at the centre of mass of the fluid displaced.

6. If a plastic ball floats on the surface of the water on Earth, will it float or
sink if placed in a bucket of water on the moon?

The plastic ball will float if placed in a bucket of water on the moon. Since the ball has
mass, if it floats on the water on Earth, it experiences an upthrust. The same ball will
have the same mass when placed in a bucket of water on the moon, but its weight will
decrease (W = mg), and it will experience an upthrust. The upthrust is directly
proportional to ‘g’, and ‘g’ is less on the moon (1.63 m/s 2), so the ball remains afloat.

7. What happens if the liquid’s buoyant force is equal to, greater than, or less
than the weight of the solid object to be immersed in the water?

If the liquid’s buoyant force is equal to a solid object immersed in the water, then the
object will remain hung at that depth. If the buoyant force is greater than the weight of
the solid object, it will float, and if the buoyant force is less than the object’s weight, it
will sink into the liquid.

8. What are the primary forces acting on an object when it is submerged in

A. Five
B. Three
C. Two
D. One

Answer: C. Two
Explanation: Two primary forces act on an object when it is immersed in water. A
downward force is produced by gravity, whereas an upward force is produced by
buoyancy.

9. Which scientist gave an estimate of the buoyant force acting on a solid

A. Sir Issac Newton

Answer: B. Archimedes

Explanation: It was Archimedes who determined the magnitude of buoyant force acting
on a solid object immersed in liquid.

10. If two objects are submerged, is the buoyant force the same for both the
objects?

If both objects are submerged, the buoyant force will be the same unless their density
(and therefore weight) is the same. As a result, the upward buoyant force on each object
will depend on its density relative to the density of water.