Calculating Weight of Shark Liver for Flotation

[clipperdude21]

1. Some sharks have a surprising float:their livers. The shark liver contains a lot of squalene with a density of 860 kg/m^3. Estimate the weight of the liver of a 2000kg shark so it is effective as a float

Homework Equations

3. No clue! I spent like 20 minutes trying to use different equations.

 

[Shooting Star]

Total buoyant force upward must be equal to weight of shark...remember Archimedes' Principle?

 

[ogb p]

I can offer some guidance on how to approach this problem. The first step would be to determine the volume of the shark liver. This can be done by using the density of squalene (860 kg/m^3) and the weight of the shark (2000 kg). The equation for density is mass/volume, so we can rearrange it to solve for volume: volume = mass/density. Plugging in the values, we get a volume of approximately 2.33 m^3.

Next, we need to determine the volume of the shark's entire body. Let's assume that the shark has a density of 1000 kg/m^3, which is the average density of seawater. To calculate the volume, we can use the same equation as before, but with the mass of the shark (2000 kg) and the density of seawater (1000 kg/m^3). This gives us a volume of approximately 2 m^3.

Now, we can calculate the percentage of the shark's body that is made up of liver. This can be done by dividing the volume of the liver by the volume of the entire body (2.33 m^3 / 2 m^3 = 1.165). This means that the liver makes up approximately 1.165% of the shark's body.

To estimate the weight of the liver, we can take 1.165% of the shark's weight (2000 kg). This gives us a weight of approximately 23.3 kg for the shark's liver.

However, it is important to note that this is just an estimate and there may be other factors at play that could affect the actual weight of the liver needed for flotation. Further research and experimentation may be needed to get a more accurate calculation.