What factors determine how heavy an object can be and still float?

Answer 1

The important property here is *density*, not weight. A large cargo ship may weigh more than 100,000 tons, and will still float easily.

Archimedes' principle states that the buoyant force acting on any object is equal to the weight of the *fluid it displaces.*

Therefore, if an object is more dense than the water that it displaces, then the force of gravity on that object is greater than the bouyant force, and it sinks.

This raises the question, how is it possible to build a floating ship out of steel, which is almost three times more dense than water?

~Donkey Hotei

Answer 2

An object will float if it can displace its weight in water.

This means that the volume that the object will occupy in water, when you take that much water, it will weigh a little more than the object.

For simple objects, like a ball, this means the ball's density is less than water's. For a row boat, when you put it in water, it will push into the water until the volume of water it displaces equals its weight, then it floats. If that never happens, it will sink to the bottom.

Answer 3

It has to weigh less than the amount of water it displaces.

Answer 4

the volume of the fluid, the volume submerged, and the density of the object submerged

Answer 5

Buoyancy.

Answer 6

Salinity of the water....