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Water level (Posted on 2003-03-10) Difficulty: 2 of 5
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?

See The Solution Submitted by fwaff    
Rating: 4.1333 (15 votes)

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Some Thoughts re(2): depends on the density | Comment 15 of 20 |
(In reply to re: depends on the density by Chaz)

Are you trying to say that if the boat were a smaller volume then the water level would be higher, because the boat would displace less water? This isn't true. The volume of water that is displaced by an object, such that it still floats, depends on what the mass of the object floating in it is. The displaced volume therefore depends on the floating mass, and the problem is actually one of mass (density) rather than volume. If the boat were made of a denser material, and yet was exactly the size and shape, it would displace more water (as long as it still stays afloat). So I think you can't correctly say that the solution lies in volume...and it is DEFINITELY not the only factor...it is about density at its core.
  Posted by Vinodhan Selvarajalu on 2003-05-10 22:48:58

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