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Buoyancy Basics
Grades: 3-8

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This illustrated demonstration from NOVA uses blocks of wood in water to explain the connection between the amount of water displaced by an
object ...

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Source:

NOVA: "Voyage of Doom"

Permitted use: Stream Only

Accessibility: Textual, Visual

© 2000 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Support Materials
• National Standards

Background Essay

The Greek mathematician Archimedes first noted that any object immersed or partly immersed in a fluid (i.e., a liquid or a gas) is buoyed upward by a
force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. The crucial factor in determining an object's buoyancy is its density, the relationship
between its weight, which is pulling it down, and its volume. If an object placed in water weighs more than an equal volume of water -- in other
words, if the density of the object is greater than the density of water -- then the downward force of gravity will be greater than the upward buoyant
force, and the object will sink. On the other hand, if the object weighs less than the fluid it would displace if submerged, it will sink only to the point
where it displaces the amount of fluid equal to its weight. At that point, the upward force of the fluid equals the downward force of gravity, and the

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.matter.buobasics/buoyanc... 24-10-2013
Buoyancy Basics | Science | Classroom Resources | PBS Learning Media Page 2 of 2

object floats.

When a block of wood is placed in water, it sinks until it displaces the amount of water with a weight equal to its own. At this point, the upward force
on the block from the surrounding water is equal to the downward force of gravity. Because the wood block is less dense than water -- that is, taking
up more space for the same weight -- it remains partially out of the water and floats. A block of steel, by contrast, sinks to the bottom of the water.
Steel, made mostly of iron atoms, has a much greater density than water or wood, primarily because iron atoms are much heavier than the hydrogen,
oxygen, and carbon atoms of the water and wood.

So, how can huge ships, which are made mostly of steel, float? By changing the shape of the steel into a hollow drum or bowl, a ship's effective
density is altered. The density of a hollow ship is calculated by dividing the gross weight of the ship -- the combined weight of the steel, any cargo on
board, and the air contained in the vessel -- by their combined volume. As a hollow object begins to sink down into the surface of the water, it
displaces a much larger volume of water than it would if it were solid. Since the hollow ship acts like any other object with a large volume for its
weight, provided its overall density is less than that of water, it will float.

Discussion Questions

What happens to the water level when you place a block of wood in a pail of water?
How does the weight of the water that the block of wood displaces compare to the weight of the wood?
What would happen to the water level in the pail if more of the floating block was submerged?
Consider a block that is no longer floating but is resting on the bottom of the pail. If you kept the volume of the block the same and increased its mass,
what would happen to the water level in the pail?
Would a block of wood behave the same way in salt water as it does in fresh water?

Benchmarks for Science Literacy

4D/M3cd ( Grades: 6-8 ): In solids, the atoms or molecules are closely locked in position and can only vibrate. In liquids, they have higher energy, are more loosely
connected, and can slide past one another; some molecules may get enough energy to escape into a gas. In gases, the atoms or molecules have still more energy and are free
of one another except during occasional collisions.

• 4 (Grades: 6-8 ): The Physical Setting

◦ 4A (Grades: 6-8 ): The Universe
■ 4A/M1a (Grades: 6-8 ): The sun is a medium-sized star located near the edge of a disc-shaped galaxy of stars, part of which can be
seen as a glowing band of light that spans the sky on a very clear night.
◦ 4B (Grades: 6-8 ): The Earth
■ 4B/M2ab (Grades: 6-8 ): The earth is mostly rock. Three-fourths of the earth's surface is covered by a relatively thin layer of water
(some of it frozen), and the entire planet is surrounded by a relatively thin layer of air.
◦ 4C (Grades: 6-8 ): Processes that Shape the Earth
■ 4C/M1 (Grades: 6-8 ): The interior of the earth is hot. Heat flow and movement of material within the earth cause earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions and create mountains and ocean basins. Gas and dust from large volcanoes can change the atmosphere.
◦ 4D (Grades: 6-8 ): The Structure of Matter

Project Credits

Curriculum Topics

• Archimedes Principle
• Liquids

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