The Genius of Archimedes: 23 Centuries of Influence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering. There is a mini-experiment included that can be done either as a demonstration, or an individual task.

It provides background information (the bathtub crown story), and an explanation of how the buoyant force is calculated. This will make things a little more complicated but will also give you many things to talk about in your science fair demonstration. This powerpoint walks students through the Archimedes Principle. You can take this experiment further an experiment with other liquids, such as saltwater, corn syrup, or vegetable oil. Under normal circumstances, water has a density of 1g/ml, so any object with a density of less than this will float any object with a density of more than this will sink.

For each object, you can now calculate the density - Density = Mass/VolumeFor example: If a block of wood weighs 6 grams and displaces 8 milliliters of water6 g /8 ml = 0.75 g/ml.

Repeat the process with the other two objects.

Immerse one of the objects in the water - note that, if the object floats, you will have to gently push it under with your finger.

Pour some water into the jug, making sure that there is enough to cover the object completely.

Whatever you use, try to find a measuring cylinder or jug that is large enough to fit the objects without allowing the water to spill over the edge, yet small enough to allow accurate measurement.Ī Human floating in the Dead Sea, due to the high density of the water here ( Creative Commons)

Three similar sized objects, such as three pebbles (limestone, granite and brick), three metal objects (iron, lead and aluminum are good choices) or three beads (wood, glass and metal).

Recreate Archimedes' Water Displacement Experiments By entering the figures into the equation, he calculated that the crown was less dense than the gold but denser than the silver, indicating that it was a mixture of the metals and that King Hieron's suspicions were correct. He then immersed each in water, carefully measuring how much water was displaced. This formed the basis of his experiment because he understood that, if he divided the weight of an object by the volume of water displaced, he would know its density.įor his experiment, he weighed the crown, a block of gold, and a block of silver.

He realized that an object immersed in water always displaced a volume of water equal to its own volume. What is the Science Behind Archimedes Principle?Īrchimedes Water Balance ( Creative Commons)

Pdf of archimedes and the golden crown