ARCHIMEDES

PRINCIPLE

SITUATION THAT RELATE TO ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE

Have you ever

noticed
that objects
seem less
heavy if you
put them in
water?

When

any object is in water, the

water exerts an upward force on
it
This force is called buoyant
force
The buoyant force is the upward
force resulting from an object
being wholly or partially
immersed in a fluid

 When

in water, the object

experiences two forces:
(a) The actual weight which
acts downwards
(b) The buoyant force which
acts upwards.

BUOYANT FORCE

The

buoyant force is equal to

the apparent loss in weight.

Buoyant

force = actual weight

apparent weight
Buoyant force = actual weight
apparent weight

5N

3N

 Relate

of buoyant force to the weight

of the liquid

TIMES TO DO
EXPERIMENT..

ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE

States that an object which is partially or wholly

immersed in a fluid (liquid or gas) is acted upon by an
upwards buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid
displaces.
Buoyant force is created by the increase of pressure
with depth

PRINCIPLE OF FLOATATION

States that a floating body displaces its own weight of the liquid in
which it floats
When a body is partially or totally submerged in a liquid, buoyant
force = weight of liquid displaced
For an object floating in a liquid,
The weight of liquid displaced
(Buoyant force)

the weight of the body

By applying the principle of floatation,

(i) an object would float or remain stationary in a liquid when the
buoyant force is equal to weight of the object
(ii) an object would float or move upwards when buoyant force is
more than the weight of the object
(iii) an object would sink or move downwards in a liquid when the
buoyant force is less than weight of the object

The buoyant force acting on an object depend on

(i) the volume of the object
- larger object such as iron ship displace a larger volume of
water thus experiencing a larger buoyant
(ii) the density of the liquid
- the higher the density of liquid, the larger buoyant force.

Figure shows a block of density 0.9 g cm-3 submerged at depths in

liquids of different densities

QUICK CHECK

Two object A and B placed into liquid X and Y are

found to be submerged to position shown in the
figure on the right. Compare
(a) the density of liquid X to that liquid Y
(b) the density of material A to the density of
liquid X and liquid Y
(c) the density of material B to the density of
liquids X and Y

ANSWER:
(a)Density of liquid X is less than density of liquid Y
(b) Material A is denser than liquid X and material A is less dense
than liquid Y
(c) Material B is denser than liquid X and liquid Y

USE OF ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE

(a) Water transport (ship)

Base on the principle of floating, ship can

stay afloat by displacing the weight of
sea-water equal to its own weight
The ship would sink to a certain level until
its weight is equal to the buoyant force
However, the ship may sink to deeply into water due to overloading or changes
in water density: then there is danger of being swamped in rough seas.
To prevent this, a plimsoll line is marked on the hulls of all ships to show the
depth which are safe for them to navigate
The depth for sea-water of normal density is at B while for freshwater is at F or
TF
A ship will submerged deeper in fresh water because the density of fresh water
is less than sea water a ship must displace more water to obtain sufficient
buoyant force to support its weight.

(b) Submarine
(b)

Submarine

It has large ballast tanks to control its position

and depth it can submerge below sea level
When afloat, water is driven out from the
ballast tank by compressed air to reduce its
weight and produce a larger buoyant force

When submerged, the ballast tank are filled

with water again to increase the weight of the
submarine

The submarine can submerged to a depth

where the buoyant force = to its weight

(c) Hot-air balloons

When the envelope of a balloon is filled with a

gas of lower density than air such as hydrogen ,
helium or hot air, its weight decreases

The total weight of the balloon, WT

=Wf + Wg

The balloon experiences a buoyant force = Vg

If the buoyant force = WT of the balloon.. it remains stationary or continues

to move with constant velocity
If the buoyant force > total weight,.balloon will rise upwards
Balloons are often used in weather forecasting, sports, reaction activities and
for advertisements

(d) HYDROMETER

Is an instrument for measuring densities of liquids

Widely used in checking the condition of a car battery
by determining whether the relative density of acid in it
has dropped below 1.20
Testing the content of natural rubber in rubber latex as
in MARDEX rubber latex collection centres
Its consists of a wide bulb carrying a narrow glass stem
The lower bulb is weighted with lead shots to keep it
floating upright
The stem is graduated with a relative density scale
having unequal divisions and values decreasing
upwards
By applying the principle of floatation, the immersed
length of the hydrometer in a liquid decreased as the
liquid density increase due to an increasing buoyant
force

THE END