Archimedes Principle

Archimedes Principle

1. Archimedes Principle states that when a body is wholly or partially immersed in a fluid it
experiences an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.
2. Upthrust/Buoyant force is an upward force exerted by a fluid on an object immersed in it.
3. Mathematically, we write

F=Vg
F = Upthrust/Buoyant Force
= Density of the liquid
V = Volume of the displaced liquid
g = Gravitational field strength

Principle of Floatation

1. The principle of floatation states that when an object floats in a liquid the buoyant
force/upthrust that acts on the object is equal to the weight of the object.
2. As shown in the figure above, if the weight of the object (W) = upthrust (F), the object is in
balance and therefore float on the surface of the fluid.
3. If the weight of the object > upthrust, the object will sink into the fluid.
Note

1. Displaced volume of fluid = volume of the object that immerse in the fluid.
2. If weight of the object > upthrust, the object will sink into the fluid.
3. If weight of the object = upthrust, the object is in balance and therefore float on the surface of
the fluid.

Forces Acted on Objects Immersed in Liquid

In order to solve the problem related to object immerse in water, it's important to know the all
forces acted on the object.

Case 1:

1. The density of the object is lower than the density of the liquid. The object floats on the
surface of the water.
2. The forces acting on the object is
a. the weight of the object(W)
b. the upthrust (F)

Forces are in equilibrium, hence

F=W
Case 2:
 1. The density of the object is greater than the density of the liquid. The object sink to the
bottom of the water.
2. Lying on the bottom of the water, there is a normal reaction acted on the object.
3. The forces acting on the object is
a. the weight of the object(W)
b. the upthrust (F)
c. Normal reaction (R)

Forces are in equilibrium, hence

F+R=W
Case 3:

1. The density of the object is greater than the density of the liquid. The object is hold by a
string so that it does not sink deeper into the water.
2. The forces acting on the object is
a. the weight of the object(W)
b. the upthrust (F)
c. Tension of the string (T)

Forces are in equilibrium, hence

F+T=W
Case 4:
 1. The density of the object is lower than the density of the liquid. The object is hold by a
string so that it does not move up to the surface of the water.
2. The forces acting on the object is
a. the weight of the object(W)
b. the upthrust (F)
c. Tension of the string (T)

Forces are in equilibrium, hence

F=W+T

Application of Archimedes Principle

Plimsoll Line

The Plimsoll line is an imaginary line marking the level at which a ship or boat floats in the
water.
It indicates how much load is allowed at different types of water.

Airship

1. Air ship is filled with helium gas.

2. Helium gas has density lower than the surrounding air, hence an upthrust which higher
than the weight of the airship can be produced and cause the airship float in the air.
Hot Air Balloon

1. Hot air in the balloon has lower density than the surrounding air.
2. As a result, when the buoyant force produced is higher than the weight of the balloon, the
balloon will start rising up.
3. The altitude of the balloon can be controlled by varying the temperature of the air in the
balloon.

Hydrometers

1. Hydrometer is used to measure relative density of liquids.

2. How deep the hydrometer sink into the liquid is affected by the density of the liquid.
3. The lower the density of the liquid, the deeper the hydrometer will sink.
4. This is used as the indicator of relative density of a liquid.
Submarine

A submarine use ballask tank to control its movement up and down.

To get submerge, water is pumped into the ballast tank to increase the weight of the submarine.
To surface, the water is pumped out to reduce the weight of the submarine.

Q&A

Q: The diagram shows a picture of a hydrometer. What is the function of the lead shot at the
bottom of the hydrometer?

A:

To lower down the centre of gravity of the hydrometer. The hydrometer will topple if the centre
gravity of the hydrometer is above the surface of the liquid.