PHYS81 – Buoyancy and Specific Gravity Questions

1. The following statement are true EXCEPT

a. The buoyant force increases with the density of the fluid. (T)
b. All fluid exerts a buoyant force on an object that is partially or fully submerged on it. (T)
c. An object that is completely floating in a fluid does not experience a buoyant force. (F)
d. Specific gravity is a ratio between densities of fluids.
e. When the object density is greater than the fluid where it is submerged, it will float. (F)
f. For floating object, the fraction volume of the object that is submerged in fluid is the ratio of
the density of the object to the density of the fluid. (T)

2. The buoyant force derive from displacement method is best represented by

a. the difference between the object’s weight in air and in fluid
b. the ratio of the object’s mass to its density
c. the equilibrium force on the object
d. the product of the density of fluid, the displaced volume, and gravitational constant (T)

3. A 200-ml flask is filled with water at 4oC. When the flask is heated at 80oC, 6.0 g of water spill
out. What is density of water 80oC? (Assume that the expansion of the flask is negligible.)

a. 0.79 g/cm3
b. 0.87 g/cm3
c. 0.97 g/cm3
d. 1.15 g/cm3

4. A cork has a density of 200 kg/m3. Find the percentage of the volume of the cork that is
submerged when the cork floats in water.

a. 20%
b. 25%
c. 50%
d. 75%

5. An aluminum block with a mass of 0.500 kg and a density of 2.7 x 10 3 kg/m3 is suspended
from a string. What is the tension in the spring when it is completely immersed in water?

a. 1.5 N
b. 3.0 N
c. 5.0 N
d. 6.2 N
For items 6-7, consider the following problem.

Mercury is poured into a U-tube (Fig. a). The left arm of the tube has cross-sectional area A1 of
10.0 cm2, and the right arm has a cross-sectional area A2 of 5.00 cm2. 100.0 g of water are then
poured into the right arm (Fig. b).

6. The length of the water column in the right arm of the U-tube is
a. 5.0 cm
b. 10.0 cm
c. 15.0 cm
d. 20.0 cm

7. Given that the density of mercury is 13.6 g/cm3, what distance h does the mercury rise in the
left arm?

a. 0.25 cm
b. 0.36 cm
c. 0.49 cm
d. 0.54 cm