The_Fritz
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Homework Statement
Because gasoline is less dense than water, drums containing gasoline will float in water. Suppose a 260 L steel drum is completely full of gasoline.
What total volume of steel can be used in making the drum if the gasoline-filled drum is to float in fresh water?
Homework Equations
P=\rho*V*g
Archimedes' principle - the buoyant force on an object immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by that object.
The Attempt at a Solution
\rho_steel*V_steel*g+\rho_gas*V*g=\rho_water*V*g
Solve for V_steel: *gravity cancels*
V_steel= (\rho_water*V)-(\rho_gas*V)/(\rho_steel)
plug in values:
density water = 1000 kg/m^3
density gas = 680 kg/m^3
density steel = 7800 kg/m^3
Volume of drum= 260 L = .26 m^3
Answer: 1.1 * 10^-2 (which was not the correct answer)