Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Displacement

Displacement

What is it?

The displacement of an object is the
volume of water it occupies.
A floating object displaces less water than an object of the same size that sinks. The sinking object displaces its entire volume of water - but the floating object still sticks out above the surface of the water.

Give me an example!

Have you ever wondered how to calculate the volume of an irregularly shaped object - such as a rock? That's real easy - providing the object sinks! Just put some water in a container. Make a mark on the container to show the level of the water. Then carefully lower the sinking object into the water. Once it's in, put another mark on the container to show the second level. The difference in the volume of the container between the two marks will be the displacement of the object!

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