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CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS ALIVE! VIDEO QUESTION SET

Liquids II
In this lecture, Paul Hewitt focuses on how buoyant force and density relate to sinking and floating.
Read the following questions before the presentation begins. Answer them while the presentation
is in progress. [38 minutes]

1. Archimedes Principle states, “The amount of buoyant force that will act on
an immersed object is numerically equal to
A. the weight of the object.”
B. the weight of fluid displaced by the object.”
C. both A and B
D. none of these

2. Consider the objects in the illustration.

Object 4 has the greatest buoyant force
acting on it because it
A. isn’t being held by Hewitt’s hand.
1 3
B. has the greatest density.
C. has the greatest volume.
2 wood
D. displaces the most water.

iron 4
DENSITY = WEIGHT/VOLUME

3. Which is greater when the clay floats?

A. buoyant force up B. weight force down
C. both forces balance D. it depends on the shape of the clay

4. The buoyant force on a floating object is equal to two quantities. What are
they?

5. What is the numerical value for the density of a fresh-water fish?

Conceptual Physics Alive! Video Question Sets © Dean Baird. All rights reserved.

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6. Even without the use of its fins (flippers or tail), a fish can move up or down
in water. It increases or decreases its density by changing
A. its weight. B. its volume. C. its weight and volume.
D. Actually, a fish needs its fins to move up or down in the water.

7. Consider two life preservers with the same shape and size. One is filled with
Styrofoam; the other with lead pellets. The Styrofoam one is a better life
preserver because it
A. increases your volume more. B. decreases your overall weight.
C. increases your buoyant force more. D. decreases your overall density.

8. Which boat floats lower in the water?

A. the one filled with five tons of lead
B. the one filled with five tons of Styrofoam
C. both float at the same depth

9. Why do you float higher in salt water than you do in fresh water?

10. A paperclip and a log are placed at the surface of a body of water. The one
that sinks has
A. a greater weight. B. a greater density.
C. a greater buoyant force. D. all of these.

Conceptual Physics Alive! Video Question Sets © Dean Baird. All rights reserved.

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