What will happen if something is not as dense as water?

1 Answer
anor277
Feb 18, 2016

That something will FLOAT in water.

Explanation:

Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.

This principle was enunciated by Archimedes of Syracuse in the 3rd century BC. It follows that is something is denser than water (i.e. #> 1# #g*cm^-3#, that something will SINK in water.

Mercury has a density of #13.55# #g*mL^-1#. What would you predict with regard to the buoyancy of common objects in mercury metal?

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