# 8.6 Archimedes’ principle  (Page 5/9)

 Page 5 / 9
$\text{apparent weight loss = weight of fluid displaced}$

or

$\text{apparent mass loss = mass of fluid displaced.}$

The next example illustrates the use of this technique.

## Calculating density: is the coin authentic?

The mass of an ancient Greek coin is determined in air to be 8.630 g. When the coin is submerged in water as shown in [link] , its apparent mass is 7.800 g. Calculate its density, given that water has a density of $1\text{.}\text{000}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{g/cm}}^{3}$ and that effects caused by the wire suspending the coin are negligible.

Strategy

To calculate the coin’s density, we need its mass (which is given) and its volume. The volume of the coin equals the volume of water displaced. The volume of water displaced ${V}_{\text{w}}$ can be found by solving the equation for density $\rho =\frac{m}{V}$ for $V$ .

Solution

The volume of water is ${V}_{\text{w}}=\frac{{m}_{\text{w}}}{{\rho }_{\text{w}}}$ where ${m}_{\text{w}}$ is the mass of water displaced. As noted, the mass of the water displaced equals the apparent mass loss, which is ${m}_{\text{w}}=8\text{.}\text{630 g}-7\text{.}\text{800 g}=0\text{.}\text{830 g}$ . Thus the volume of water is ${V}_{\text{w}}=\frac{0\text{.}\text{830 g}}{1\text{.}\text{000 g}{\text{/cm}}^{3}}=0\text{.}\text{830}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{cm}}^{3}$ . This is also the volume of the coin, since it is completely submerged. We can now find the density of the coin using the definition of density:

${\rho }_{\text{c}}=\frac{{m}_{\text{c}}}{{V}_{c}}=\frac{8\text{.}\text{630 g}}{0\text{.830 c}{\text{m}}^{3}}=\text{10}\text{.}4 g{\text{/cm}}^{3}.$

Discussion

You can see from [link] that this density is very close to that of pure silver, appropriate for this type of ancient coin. Most modern counterfeits are not pure silver.

This brings us back to Archimedes’ principle and how it came into being. As the story goes, the king of Syracuse gave Archimedes the task of determining whether the royal crown maker was supplying a crown of pure gold. The purity of gold is difficult to determine by color (it can be diluted with other metals and still look as yellow as pure gold), and other analytical techniques had not yet been conceived. Even ancient peoples, however, realized that the density of gold was greater than that of any other then-known substance. Archimedes purportedly agonized over his task and had his inspiration one day while at the public baths, pondering the support the water gave his body. He came up with his now-famous principle, saw how to apply it to determine density, and ran naked down the streets of Syracuse crying “Eureka!” (Greek for “I have found it”). Similar behavior can be observed in contemporary physicists from time to time!

## Phet explorations: buoyancy

When will objects float and when will they sink? Learn how buoyancy works with blocks. Arrows show the applied forces, and you can modify the properties of the blocks and the fluid.

## Section summary

• Buoyant force is the net upward force on any object in any fluid. If the buoyant force is greater than the object’s weight, the object will rise to the surface and float. If the buoyant force is less than the object’s weight, the object will sink. If the buoyant force equals the object’s weight, the object will remain suspended at that depth. The buoyant force is always present whether the object floats, sinks, or is suspended in a fluid.
• Archimedes’ principle states that the buoyant force on an object equals the weight of the fluid it displaces.
• Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of an object to a fluid (usually water).

what is the stm
is there industrial application of fullrenes. What is the method to prepare fullrene on large scale.?
Rafiq
industrial application...? mmm I think on the medical side as drug carrier, but you should go deeper on your research, I may be wrong
Damian
How we are making nano material?
what is a peer
What is meant by 'nano scale'?
What is STMs full form?
LITNING
scanning tunneling microscope
Sahil
how nano science is used for hydrophobicity
Santosh
Do u think that Graphene and Fullrene fiber can be used to make Air Plane body structure the lightest and strongest. Rafiq
Rafiq
what is differents between GO and RGO?
Mahi
what is simplest way to understand the applications of nano robots used to detect the cancer affected cell of human body.? How this robot is carried to required site of body cell.? what will be the carrier material and how can be detected that correct delivery of drug is done Rafiq
Rafiq
what is Nano technology ?
write examples of Nano molecule?
Bob
The nanotechnology is as new science, to scale nanometric
brayan
nanotechnology is the study, desing, synthesis, manipulation and application of materials and functional systems through control of matter at nanoscale
Damian
Is there any normative that regulates the use of silver nanoparticles?
what king of growth are you checking .?
Renato
What fields keep nano created devices from performing or assimulating ? Magnetic fields ? Are do they assimilate ?
why we need to study biomolecules, molecular biology in nanotechnology?
?
Kyle
yes I'm doing my masters in nanotechnology, we are being studying all these domains as well..
why?
what school?
Kyle
biomolecules are e building blocks of every organics and inorganic materials.
Joe
anyone know any internet site where one can find nanotechnology papers?
research.net
kanaga
sciencedirect big data base
Ernesto
Introduction about quantum dots in nanotechnology
what does nano mean?
nano basically means 10^(-9). nanometer is a unit to measure length.
Bharti
do you think it's worthwhile in the long term to study the effects and possibilities of nanotechnology on viral treatment?
absolutely yes
Daniel
how to know photocatalytic properties of tio2 nanoparticles...what to do now
it is a goid question and i want to know the answer as well
Maciej
Abigail
for teaching engĺish at school how nano technology help us
Anassong
How can I make nanorobot?
Lily
Do somebody tell me a best nano engineering book for beginners?
there is no specific books for beginners but there is book called principle of nanotechnology
NANO
how can I make nanorobot?
Lily
what is fullerene does it is used to make bukky balls
are you nano engineer ?
s.
fullerene is a bucky ball aka Carbon 60 molecule. It was name by the architect Fuller. He design the geodesic dome. it resembles a soccer ball.
Tarell
what is the actual application of fullerenes nowadays?
Damian
That is a great question Damian. best way to answer that question is to Google it. there are hundreds of applications for buck minister fullerenes, from medical to aerospace. you can also find plenty of research papers that will give you great detail on the potential applications of fullerenes.
Tarell
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!