2007-05-02 22:21:54 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Its the shape of the ship, it displaces water... If an iron nail was shaped like a boat it would float too, lol.
An object has to weigh a certain amount over a certain area in order to sink. It has to be heavier/denser than the water. Because the ship is hollow-ish it doesn't weigh enough in relation to the space it takes up...
Taking into account the weight/density of the air and the iron, etc, the ship weighs less than the amount of water it would need to displace in order to sink. There that's about right :D
2007-05-02 22:30:22 · answer #1 · answered by LadyWhite 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
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2016-03-18 22:51:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
An iron nail is solid, but an iron ship is hollow. The iron nail sinks because iron is heavier than water. The bottom of a ship will descend in the water until it displaces an amount of water equal to the weight of the ship(and all its contents).
2007-05-02 22:40:19 · answer #3 · answered by jsardi56 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because an Iron ship isn't a solid chunk of iron like the nail. There is alot of air in a ship that keeps it lighter than the water it displaces.
2007-05-02 22:30:42 · answer #4 · answered by Wocka wocka 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First, I want to say "buoyance makes fly". If something displace 100cm3 of space and the displacement weights 100g, it is said to be having a density of 1g/cm3.
Water density is 1g/cm3
No matter how heavy a nail is, the important factor to let it float is to increase its displacement space. Or let a metal container be 100g but it displaces 500cm3, hence, its density is respectively 0.2g/cm3 (because 100g /500cm3 = 0.2g/cm3).
compare 1g /cm3 and 0.2g /cm3, it is obvious that the container can float as ease.
I teach you something more.
Like a ship, as it floats on water, it has 1 part below the water line and another part above the water horizon.
Let the part above horizon be A; below horizon be B.
let the mass of water in the volume of B be C.
Then, mass of A = mass of C - mass of B.
2007-05-02 22:59:44 · answer #5 · answered by high-lighter 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
For any object to sink or float following law is applicable:
"The amount of water displaced by object should exceed the total weight of object in order to make it float else it will sink".
2007-05-02 22:32:02 · answer #6 · answered by Hardik P 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Lots of iron ships sunk around here - wooden ones too, but lmost types of wood floats!
2007-05-02 22:27:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Water Displacment... Sorry, but its a bad question...
2007-05-02 22:24:27 · answer #8 · answered by eldeeder 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
iron ship is not solid, it has air in it.
2007-05-02 22:24:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its the displacement of the water that matters not the weight or size of the entity.
2007-05-02 22:24:47 · answer #10 · answered by Jaylaw 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋