A boat will submerge when it displaces water equal to its own:
(1) volume
(2) weight
(3) surface area
(4) density
Answer: (2) A boat will float when the weight of the water it displaces equals the weight of the boat and anything will float if it is shaped to displace its own weight of water before it reaches the point where it will submerge. The floating of the boat works on the principle of buoyancy force which is an upward force exerted by a liquid, gas or other fluid, that opposes the weight of an immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the column than at the top. This difference in pressure results in a net force that tends to accelerate an object upwards.
