MANIPAL INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Name

: Choo Hui Yee

ID Number

: 1000038

Programme

: Foundation in Engineering

Course Code

: FEG 1042

Course Name

: Physics Lab 1

Lecturer

: Miss Fatin Hana Naning

Title of Experiment : (4) Archimedes Principle

Date

: 10th April 2013

4. Archimedes Principle
Objective:
To determine the buoyant force of solid samples.

Physics Lab Report 4

Archimedes Principle

Theory:
Archimedes discovered a relationship between the weights of the liquid displaces by the
submerged object, and the amount of buoyant force on the object. The principle that Archimedes
discovered is called the principle of buoyancy or, simply, Archimedes principles. Basically,
this principle states that a body immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight
of the displaced fluid. The principle applies to both floating and submerged bodies and to all
fluids. The scientific definition of a fluid however includes either a liquid or a gas. Any liquid or
gas is a fluid.
Whether a given body will float, sink, or remain static in a given fluid is dependent on both the
weight and volume of that material. The relative density, the weight per unit volume of the body
contrasted to theta of the fluid, determines the buoyant force. If the body is less dense than the
fluid, it will float, or, in the case of a balloon, it will rise. If the body is denser than the fluid, it
will sink. If the object has the same relative density, it will remain static, i.e., it will neither rise
nor fall.
When an object is immersed in a fluid as in Figure 1, the fluid pressure acts perpendicular to the
surface of the object at every point of its surface. Pressures acting on one side of the object
cancel pressures acting on the opposite side. However, the pressure acting on the bottom of the
object is always greater than the pressure acting on the top of the object. This causes a net
upward force on the object, which is called the buoyant force or, simply, the buoyancy. The
reason for the buoyant force can be understood by considering the pressure-depth relationship. P
= gh, where P is the pressure, the mass density, g the acceleration due to gravity, and h the
depth below the surface of the fluid.

Figure 1: Pressure acting in an immersed

object and displaced fluid
When an object is immersed in the fluid, some
fluid must be pushed aside to make room for the
object. This is called the displaced fluid (see Figure 1). It should be obvious that the volume of

Choo Hui Yee 1000038

Foundation in Engineering

Physics Lab Report 4

Archimedes Principle

the displaced fluid is equal to the volume of the immersed object. Archimedes principle states
that buoyant force is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid.
Thus, you can see that there are two forces acting on the immersed object, the downward force of
gravity (weight of the object) and the upward buoyant force. As stated before, if the weight of the
object exceeds the buoyant force, the object will accelerate downward, or in other words, it will
sink. There are three possibilities:
(1) If the buoyant force exceeds the weight of the object, the object will accelerate upward,
or in other words, it will float, and is said to have positive buoyancy.
(2) If the buoyant force is less than the weight of the object, it will sink, and is said to have
negative buoyancy.
(3) If the buoyant force equals the weight of the object, it remains stationary, and has neutral
buoyancy.
P = gh
P = Pressure
= Density of the fluid
g = Gravitational
h = Height

Figure 2: Measuring buoyant force with spring scales.

In Figure 2a, the spring scale just balances the force of gravity on the object and thus the scale
reads the weight of the object. In figure 2b, the buoyant force acts upward on the object, and the
scale reads less than in Figure 2a, by an amount equal to the buoyant force. We call this second
reading the apparent weight of the object. The buoyant force is calculated as
Buoyant Force = Weight Apparent Weight

Apparatus:
i.

Spring scale

Choo Hui Yee 1000038

Foundation in Engineering

(1)

Physics Lab Report 4

ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Archimedes Principle

Metal Samples
Beaker
Overflow container
Weighing balance

Procedure:
1. The metal sample is hung to one end of the spring balance.
2. The spring balance is suspended and the reading is recorded as Fo. The results are filled
in the below table.
3. The mass of a clean and dry beaker was recorded.
4. The overflow container was filled with water till the spout. The beaker is placed under
the spout.
5. The sample was lowered gently into the overflow container suspended by the spring
balance till the sample is completely immersed in water.
6. A certain amount of water is displaced when the sample is immersed in water. The
reading of the spring balance shows a lesser value showing that the sample experiences
7.

an up thrust.
The weight reading Fo of the submerged sample is taken. It was made sure that ther

were no bubbles adhere to the sample.

8. The displaced water was collected into the beaker. the mass of the displaced was
determined by weighing the beaker and water. Then the buoyant force was determined by
compared calculating the difference between samples true weight and submerged weight,
F B=F oF ' o
9. Then the buoyant force is computed and compared with the weight of the displaced water
by finding the percent difference.
Results:

Weight of metal in air, Fo (0.05N)

Weight of metal submerged in water, Fo
(0.05N)
Buoyant force, FB
Mass of beaker and displaced water, mb + mw
(0.01g)
Mass of beaker, mb (0.01g)

Choo Hui Yee 1000038

Foundation in Engineering

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

5.00N

5.00N

5.00N

Average
Reading
5.00N

4.45N

4.40N

4.35N

4.40N

0.55N

0.60N

0.65N

0.60N

79.55g

84.08g

85.20g

82.94g

19.70g

19.75g

19.80g

19.75g

Physics Lab Report 4

Archimedes Principle

Mass of displaced water, mw (g)

Weight of displaced water, mwg (N)
Percent difference between buoyant force and
weight of displaced water (%)

59.85g
0.60N

64.33g
0.64N

65.40g
0.65N

63.19g
0.63N

5%

4%

0%

3%

Calculations:
Average Reading =

Trial 1+Trial 2+ Trial 3

Total number of trials

where total number of trials = 3

*Shown by using average reading:
Weight of metal in air, Fo Wight of metal submerged in water, Fo = Buoyant Force, FB
5.00N 4.40N = 0.60N
Mass of beaker and displaced water - Mass of beaker = Mass of displaced water
(mb + mw) - mb = mw
82.94g 19.75g = 63.19g
Mass of displaced water , mw 10
= Weight of displaced water, mwg
1000 g
63.19 g 10
= 0.63N
1000

(Weight of displaced water, mwg - Buoyant Force, FB) 100%

= Percent difference between buoyant force and weight of displaced water (%)
(0.63N 0.60N) 100% = 3%
Discussion:

This experiment was repeated for 3 times for getting an accurate result. The average
reading between the 3 trials was calculated by using the following formula,

Choo Hui Yee 1000038

Foundation in Engineering

Physics Lab Report 4

Archimedes Principle

T =

T 1 +T 2 +T 3
nT

where nT is the number of trials = 3.

In this experiment, the water was used as the fluid. The density of water is lesser than the

density of the metal.

The buoyant force is always equal to the amount displaced water, which is the upward

force is equal to the downward force.

The result of the experiment was slightly different to the expected result. Based on the
theoretical, the percentage difference between buoyant force and weight of displaced

water should be 0%.

However, the actual percentage was calculated which is 3%. This is because the
experiment was affected due to some other environment factors such as
The electronic weighing balance was not accurate when using it to measure the weight of

the beaker and displaced water. There are some water droplets outside the beaker which
will affect the measurement.
The electronic weighing balance must be balance when measuring the beaker and

displaced water. The bubble must be in the middle when placing the electronic weighing

balance on the table.

Some safety precautions are needed to be followed when conducting this experiment.

Avoid parallax error

Both eyes must be parallel to the scale when taking the reading. This is to ensure
that measurement that been taken is accurate and less percentage error.

Avoid zero error

When weighing the water, ensure that the electronic balance has no zero error to
prevent inaccurate results.

Ensure that the container is fill with water until it reaches the spout

Choo Hui Yee 1000038

Foundation in Engineering

Physics Lab Report 4

Archimedes Principle

This is to ensure that water will displace to the lower container to get an accurate
result of displace water.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Archimedes principle states that the buoyant force exerted on an object is
proportional to the weight of the amount of fluid displaced. With a different volume, a different
amount of water would have been displaced. This can prove by the following equation,
mfluid (g)= fluid (Vobject g) = Fbuoyant
where m = mass of fluid, = density of fluid, F = buoyant force.

Choo Hui Yee 1000038

Foundation in Engineering