Buoyancy & Buoyant Force Video Lessons

Concept

# Problem: A flask of water rests on a scale that reads 100N. Then, a small block of unknown material is held completely submerged in the water. The block does not touch any part of the flask, and the person holding the block will not tell you whether the block is being pulled up (keeping it from falling further) or pushed down (keeping it from bobbing back up).The experiment is repeated with the six different blocks listed below. In each case, the blocks are held completely submerged in the water.Mass (g)Volume (cm3)A10050B100200C20050D50100E200100F40050If the blocks were released while submerged, which, if any, would sink to the bottom of the flask?

###### FREE Expert Solution

Density:

$\overline{){\mathbf{\rho }}{\mathbf{=}}\frac{\mathbf{m}}{\mathbf{v}}}$

If the density of the block is greater than the density of water, the block will sink.

If the density of the block is less than the density of water, the block will sink.

The density of water, ρwater = 1 g/cm3

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###### Problem Details

A flask of water rests on a scale that reads 100N. Then, a small block of unknown material is held completely submerged in the water. The block does not touch any part of the flask, and the person holding the block will not tell you whether the block is being pulled up (keeping it from falling further) or pushed down (keeping it from bobbing back up).

The experiment is repeated with the six different blocks listed below. In each case, the blocks are held completely submerged in the water.

 Mass (g) Volume (cm3) A 100 50 B 100 200 C 200 50 D 50 100 E 200 100 F 400 50

If the blocks were released while submerged, which, if any, would sink to the bottom of the flask?