Question

What is an example of flotation?

Answer 1

1. Whenever a body is dropped in a fluid, there are two forces acting on it, one is gravity and the other one is buoyancy.
2. Buoyancy is the tendency of an object to float in a fluid.
3. The buoyant force is the upward force exerted on an object wholly or partly immersed in a fluid.
4. The magnitude of this force is precisely equal to the amount of weight of the liquid displaced.
5. The point where the buoyant force is applied or the point on the object where the force acts is termed the center of buoyancy.
6. When buoyant force is more than the gravitational force, the body floats.
7. The floating of a body depends on a few factors:
   7.1 Buoyancy: Buoyancy is defined as the force applied to the object in an upward direction.
   7.2 Density: The density of a substance is defined as mass per unit volume.
   7.3 Relative Density: Relative density is said to be the ratio of the density of an object to the density of a standard substance.
   7.4 Air Pressure: Air pressure is the weight of air molecules that presses down on the surface of the earth.
   7.5 Archimedes Principle: The upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid, whether partially or fully submerged, is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces and acts in the upward direction at the center of mass of the displaced fluid.
   7.6 Pascal’s Principle: When external pressure is applied to an enclosed body of fluid the pressure is equally transferred in all directions in every part of the fluid volume and the surrounding walls of the vessel.
8. An example of floatation is a light hollow plastic ball floating on water. this is because the density of plastic hollow balls is less than water.
9. A leaf floating on the water is an example of floatation.
10. In the diagram, the object is partially immersed in the fluid and an upward buoyancy force is acting on it.