Question

When the metacenter of a floating body lies above the centre of gravity of the body then the body is said to be in

• A. neutral equilibrium state
• B. stable equilibrium state
• C. unstable equilibrium state
• D. positive equilibrium state

Answer 1

The correct option is B

stable equilibrium state

If the meta-center of a tilted floating body lies above the centre of gravity of it, then the moment of couple set by the up thrust acts in the opposite direction, as shown in the given figure. Hence, the body regains its position and remains floating upright. Thus, if the centre of the gravity of a body lies below the meta-centre, then the body is said to be in stable equilibrium.

This only happens when a body has a base which is heavier than the top.