Chapter 10

Fluid Pressure on a Submerged Object

Archimedes Principle
Archimedes Principle
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kg
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kg
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 This simpli es to:
FB=VO ⍴F g = (mO/⍴o) ⍴F g = Wo(⍴F/⍴o).

Three cases:

1. ⍴F = ⍴o the body oats.

2. For ⍴F > ⍴o it will come to the surface and be partially submerged, so

the uid displaced by the part inside the uid results is buoyant force
equalling its weight.

Mathematically: VF ⍴F = Vx ⍴o

3. ⍴F < ⍴o the body drowns

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What happens to the water level?
When the brick is in the boat, the weight of both the brick
(mg) and boat (Mg) is pressuring the water which causes
the water level to rise. When the brick is at the bottom of
the water, it displaces its volume in the water rather than
the weight. Due to the fact that the brick’s density (⍴b) is
greater than that of water (⍴w) and volume, the water level
will fall.
Case 1: Vdisp = (M+m)/⍴w
Case 2: Vdisp = M/⍴w+m/⍴b

As ⍴b>⍴w , the Vdisp in the rst case is more!

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Assume there is an ice cube in a glass of water. When the ice cube melts,
will the water level have risen, fallen, or remained the same? Why?
In the rst state, we have an ice cube of mass m oating in
the water. If it is oating (in equilibrium), it will have to
displace enough water to support its weight. How much is
that? It is just Volume = m/d , where m is the mass of the ice
cube, and d is the density of water.

In the second state, where the ice has melted, it turns into
water of volume.... Volume = m/d! exactly the same volume
as it displaced before. So the added volume is the same, so
the level of the water will not change.
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A basketball oats in a bathtub of water. The ball has a mass of 0.5 kg
and a diameter of 22 cm.
(a) What is the buoyant force?
(b) What is the volume of water displaced by the ball?
(c) What is the average density of the basketball?
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(a) To nd the buoyant force, simply draw a free-body diagram. The force of gravity is balanced by the buoyant
force:
ΣF = ma
Fb - mg = 0
Fb = mg = 4.9 N
(b) By Archimedes' principle, the buoyant force is equal to the weight of uid displaced.
Fb = ρVdispg
Vdisp= Fb/ρg = 4.9/(1000*9.8) = 5 x 10-4 m3
(c) To nd the density of the ball, we need to determine its volume. The volume of a sphere is:
V = (4/3)πr3
With r = 0.11 m, we get:
volume of basketball = V = 5.58 x 10-3 m3
The density is mass divided by volume:
ρ = m/V = 0.5 / 5.58 x 10-3 = 90 kg/m3
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 MCQ12

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 MCQ12

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Problem
Solution