ARCHIMEDE

SPrinciple

Discovery of Archimedes
'principle
Archimedes(287-212 B.C) was a Greek
scientist who first discovered that an object
submerged in a liquid is acted on by an
upward buoyant force. The buoyant force
is due to the surrounding liquid which
causes the object to weight less in the
liquid.(Supposedly when he got into the
bathtub, the water level rose). Later, he did
show that the upthrust is equal to the
weight of water displaced.

Buoyant Force and

Floatation
Weight of object=Weight of fluid displaced.
Volume of object that immerse in the

fluid=Volume of fluid displaced.

If weight of the object > upthrust, the object
will sink into the fluid.
If weight of the object = upthrust, the object
is in balance and therefore float on the
surface of the fluid.
the weight of the object(W)
the upthrust (F): buoyant
force
Forces are in equilibrium,
hence
F=W

Forces Acted on Objects

Immersed In Liquid.
Case 1:

The density of the object is lower than the density of

the liquid. The object floats on the surface of the water.
The forces acting on the object is
i. the weight of the object(W)
ii. the upthrust (F) : buoyant force
Forces are in equilibrium, hence
F=W

Case 2:

The density of the object is greater than the

density of the liquid. The object sink to the bottom
of the water.
Lying on the bottom of the water, there is a normal
reaction acted on the object.
The forces acting on the object is
i. the weight of the object(W)
ii. the upthrust (F) : buoyant force
iii. Normal reaction (R)
Forces are in equilibrium, hence

Case 3:

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.
The forces acting on the object is
i. the weight of the object(W)
ii. the upthrust (F) : buoyant force
iii. Tension of the string (T)
Forces are in equilibrium, hence
F + T= W

Case 4:

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.
The forces acting on the object is
i. the weight of the object(W)
ii. the upthrust (F) : buoyant force
iii. Tension of the string (T)
Forces are in equilibrium, hence
F = W+ T

Result of the ArchimedesPrinciple

When an object is wholly or

partially immersed in a fluid, it

experiences a buoyant force equal
to the weight of the fluid displaced.

Application of AchimedesPrinciple
Submarin
e

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.

Hydromet
er

Hydrometer is used to measure relative density

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

Hot air balloon

Hot air in the balloon has lower density than the

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

EXERCISE
A block wood of density 800kgm3 and
volume 0.5m3 floats in a liquid of
density 1200kgm-3.Determine
a)The mass of the wood
b)The volume of the wood that appears
above the surface of the liquid

ANSWER !
A) Mass of the wood
= volume x density
= 0.5 x 800 kg = 400 kg
B)Let V = volume of the wood above the liquid
Volume of the liquid displaced
= ( 0.5 V )m3
Mass of the liquid displaced
= ( 0.5 V ) x 1200 kg
( 0.5 V ) x 1200 = 400
0.5 V = 400 / 1200 = 1/3
=1/6m3

Thank You~