PURPOSE:
To expose the student to new equipment and lab procedures. And to test Archimedes's law.

INTRODUCTION:
The Buoyancy force on an object is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid that is displaced, Archimedes's law. An empty bottle floats in water even though it is made of glass which sinks. The shape of the bottle displaces water as it sits in the water. If the bottle can displace a mass of water greater than its own mass, it will float. A huge metal ocean liner will float if its hull can displace a mass of water equal to its own mass. Such a vessel will have an enormous hull extending deep into the ocean so the required mass of water can be displaced.

In this lab you will place an unknown mass within a floating empty can and observe the depth to which it sinks into the water and finally floats. From this data you will calculate the mass of the unknown.

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A thin walled aluminum can, water filled battery jar, metal weight and ruler is all that is needed in this lab.

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If you get into trouble and perform some procedure that causes the lab to fail(lab equipment will no longer operate), you can press the "Reset" button and the simulation will return to the starting position.

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PROCEDURE:

1) You can adjust the background shading by clicking on the "Special" button to the right and selecting "Background". Click on the "Special" button and select "Print Blank Report" to obtain a web page that can be printed and used as a lab report. (the program will not be interrupted)

2) Click and drag the ruler over to the aluminum can and record its diameter. This is a very thin walled can with a scale glued to its outside.

3) Drop the empty can into the glass battery jar filled with water. Record the depth to which the can has sunk. A small amount of water had to be displaced just to float this empty can. Gently press down on the floating can and release, observe the action of the water, careful - not too hard.

4) Place the small unknown weight in the floating can. Record the depth to which the can with weight has sunk.

Note: the density of this water can be considered to be 1.00 g/cm³.

5) Calculate the requested values asked for on the lab sheet and any given by your teacher. For help on these values click on the "Special" button and select "View Data & Hints". Select "File Report" to send a copy to be viewed by your teacher.