2007-04-04 16:19:14 · 7 answers · asked by marathibana b 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
It has to do with the volume that an object has and the weight of the water that it displaces.
If you place the piece of iron in a full cup of water, water that is full to the rim, some of the water will run out of the cup. You can capture all the water that runs out of the cup due to you placing the iron in the cup and weigh it. If the weight of water that you just collected is heavier than the weight of the piece of iron, the piece of iron will float.
This is how ships are designed. If a heavy ship were placed in a full gigantic cup and the water was collected that spilled out of it, the weight of the water collected would weight more than the ship itself.
2007-04-04 17:07:55 · answer #1 · answered by Nat X 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Density is correct, it is the key concept.
Iron is more dense than water so it sinks.
A ship is hollow iron with air in the middle so on average it is less dense than the water, so it floats on top of the water. If you make a hole in the boat and water fills up the space, the average density changes and the boat sinks. If you made a boat out of a heavy enough metal, the average density would be more than the water's and the boat would sink.
2007-04-05 02:02:33 · answer #2 · answered by traveler 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's called displacement. If the water that the object displaces weighs more than the object, it will float. A ship is certainly not solid iron (or steel) because such a ship would immediately sink. It is steel plates welded or riveted to a frame and most of the ship is hollow compartments. The ships size displaces a lot of water - much more actual water weight than the ship weighs.
2007-04-04 23:30:40 · answer #3 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this has to do with density. The iron has a lot of mass (weight) in a small area, therefore it sinks. A ship,boat or whatever, has enough surface area to distribute the weight properly, so evn though it weighs way more, it will float.
2007-04-04 23:26:07 · answer #4 · answered by davincis_dreams 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The AVERAGE mass of a ship below the water line is less than the water outside.
2007-04-04 23:31:25 · answer #5 · answered by Michael da Man 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A piece of iron has no displacement value. It is solid iron, containing no air mass. The hull of an iron ship contains enough air-mass to not only keep the vessel afloat but also remains somewhat resistant to the absorption of water.
2007-04-04 23:25:04 · answer #6 · answered by OP 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
because of density. iron is more dense in water and the compounds that mkae up the "heavy ship" is less dense.
2007-04-04 23:26:55 · answer #7 · answered by benzene boy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋