ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE,WHICH WOULD SINK DEEPEST INTO THE WATER ASH,oak OR balsa?

Answer 1

Oak would sink the deepest, ash next, and balsa float the highest in the water. It is interesting to know that some ebony wood is denser than water and will sink.

Answer 2

What Archimedes worked out was a physical principal called "density". It's pretty easy to work out how dense a thing is - you work out the mass (weight) of the substance that would occupy a space of which you know the volume.

The easiest way to do this is to imagine a cube of water which measures a metre on each side. This volume has a mass of exactly 1.00 tonnes; it's therefore said to have a density of 1 tonne per cubic metre. Everything is measured against this standard. The more dense an object - or in your case different timbers - is, the more mass of that substance will be required to fill one cubic metre. So, the heavier something is the more dense.

I'm not sure what the difference is between your oak and ash - I'm an Australian and don't know your trees - but I would reckon the Oak would be the "heaviest" of the three - balsa has a density of well under 1 t / m3 (probably around the 0.3t / m3 at a guess) so it would be the least dense. The Oak would still float but it would be lower in the water; it would have an approximate density of 0.8 t / m3.

I have seen a book which mentions the densities of Australian Hardwoods, so the same would be available in your country. The people who know about this stuff are timber harvesters and dealers in forest products of a raw nature like timber mills. Do a web search for someone in those fields and you'll eventually find a list of densities.

Hope this helps!

Love and Light,


Jarrah

Answer 3

From most dense to less: Oak, Ash, Balsa. If you want a wood that sinks in water, there is only one. Epay, or Iron wood is the only wood which is naturally more dense than water. It makes great decks.