Question

A toy boat floats on water and has a mass of 250 grams. What is the lowest volume possible that the boat can have before it sinks?

Answer 1

250 mL

Explanation:

To float on water, an object's density must be less than that of water.

Therefore, the point where the boat would be equal to that of water (our tipping point) is when
`rho_text(boat) = rho_text(water) = 1\ g/(cm^3)`
`V = m/\rho = (250g)/(1 g/cm^3) = 250\ cm^3`

Or in more everyday units, 250 mL