NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Manila

College of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Department

Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

(FLDMENL)

Activity / Experiment No. 3

Buoyancy

Submitted by:

Alcala, Vince Anthony G.

Balmelero, Renz Errol A.
Bernardo, Philip Aedren I.
Cruzada, Edward Joseph B.
De Leon, Carlo James B.
Janson, Martin R.
Lagutin, Kristopher Ralph M.
Lim, Christian A.
Salvacion, Reybert Emmanuel L.

Submitted to:
Engr. Jeffrey R. Santos

Date performed: February 16, 2016

Date submitted: February 23, 2017
I. Objectives

 To prove the law of hydrostatics.

II. Apparatus

These are the materials/ apparatuses we used in performing the experiment.

 1 Beaker (100 mL)

 Spring scale

 Steel block/ weight

 Vernier caliper
III. Procedures

This is the step by step procedure on how we perform the experiment.

Step 1. We prepare all the materials and apparatuses needed for the experiment.

Step 2. Using spring scale, we could identify the weight of steel block.

Figure 1. Weighing the steel block

Source: Captured by smartphone

Step 3. We filled the beaker with water to identify the weight of steel block when
submerged into it.

Figure 2. Weighing of steel block when submerged in water.

Source: Captured by smartphone

Step 4. Identifying of height and diameter of the steel block using Vernier caliper.

Figure 3. Measuring the diameter of steel block

Source: Steel block

Step 5. After we measured all the required data, we could solve the problem by
applying Archimedes Principle.
IV. Data and Result

Table 1. Listed below are following data we have gathered and computed during the
experiment.

Data Value Unit

Weight of steel block 5.1 N

Weight of Steel block when submerged 4.25 N

Beaker filled with water 250 mL

Beaker filled with water and submerged 300 mL

the steel block

Diameter of steel block 44.4 mm

Height of steel block 41 mm

These are the necessary calculation that we have computed to prove the difference
between the volume displace from the beaker filled with water and Archimedes
principle.

Given: W SBair=5.1 N W SBh 2 o=4.25 Required: SG SB ,V D

D=0.044 mh=0.041 m

V orig =2.5 x 10−4 m3 V new =3 x 10−4 m3

Solution;

π D2 h
 Volume of Steel Block (SB) using the formula V SB =
4
2
π D 2 h π ( 0.044 m ) (0.041 m)
V SB = = =2.56 x 10−6 m 3
4 4

 Volume displace using the volume from beaker thaw was filled with water.

V D=V new −V orig= ( 3 x 10− 4−2.5 x 10−4 ) m3=5 x 10−5 m 3

 Solving for Buoyant Force

F b=W air −W H O =5.1 N −4.25 N=0.85 N

2
  Solving for Volume displace using Archimedes principle.

Fb 0.85 N
V D= = =8.66 x 10−5 m3
F b=γ H O V D γH O N
2 2
9810 3
m

 Solving for Specific Gravity of steel block using Volume displace from
Archimedes principle.

Fb 0.85 N
SGSB= = =1.00
F b=SG B γ H O V D γ H 2O V D N
2
(9810 3 )( 8.66 x 10−5 m3)
m

 Solving for Specific Gravity of steel block using Volume displace from beaker that
was filled with water.

Fb 0.85 N
SGSB= = =1.73
F b=SG B γ H O V D γ H 2O V D N −5 3
2
(9810 3 )(5 x 10 m )
m

Table 2. This is the result of volume displace and specific gravity of steel block when
applying Archimedes principle and the data that was measured from beaker filled with
water.

Required Beaker filled with water Archimedes Principle Unit

VD 5 x 10−5 8.66 x 10−5 m3
SG B 1.73 1.00 Unit less
V. Discussion of Observation

From our experiment, we have observed that the weight of solid steel block
is lesser when it is submerged in water than if it is not submerged. We have also
observed that the weight of water in a beaker became greater when the solid
steel block is submerged into it.
From our computations, we have observed a slight discrepancy to the result
when we used the volume displace of beaker to get the specific gravity of solid
steel block and when we used the Archimedes principle. Based on the table 2, we
can say that we have some mistakes in measuring the weight of steel block using
spring scale thus it varies the calculation for the value of Archimedes principle.
VI. Conclusion

After doing our experiment, we have been able to identify the reason why
the weight of the water in a beaker is increased when solid steel block is
submerged into it, and it is because of the hydrostatics law, when the block is
submerged, it exerted pressure and it affect the overall weight. We have been
able to identify also the reason why the weight of solid steel block is lessened
when it is submerged in to water and it is because of its ability or tendency to
float, it is a factor that affected the weight of the solid block, it is called buoyancy
in other term.
VII. Recommendation

For future studies or research, we recommend you to use other kind of

fluid, whether it is liquid or gas. We suggest you to use other kind of liquid like oil,
slimy liquids and more, it’s up to you if it is not water and it is available near
around you and see how it will affect your experiment. You can also compare your
experiment from ours.