I’m sitting in a boat in a pool. In the boat with me is a cannonball. What happens to the level of the pool if I take the cannonball out of the boat and drop it into the pool? Does the level increase, decrease or stay the same?

(In reply to depends on the density by Helen)

...but a balloon wouldn't be much use when fired from a cannon! :-)

You could also argue about the density of the water which can vary depending on its salinity, for example the Dead Sea has a high salinity which allows people to float in it. However, it is not possible to dissolve enough salt into water to allow a cannonball to float.

Posted by fwaff on 2003-03-21 05:56:29