Floating an Upside Down Bucket: Water Displacement Explained

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An empty 5-liter bucket floats on water, but when filled with water, it sinks. When the bucket is placed upside down, trapping 5 liters of air, the weight needed to sink it exceeds the weight of the water. The discussion seeks clarification on the principles of water displacement and whether a formula exists to calculate the weight required to submerge the upside-down bucket. It is confirmed that the force required to sink the bucket is equal to the weight of the 5 liters of water. Understanding these principles is crucial for accurately assessing buoyancy and displacement.
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hi, I am after some help from a person with a understanding of water displacement principles.
On a small scale- if an empty 5 LTR bucket is floated on a body of water, it will float, if the bucket is filled with water it sinks.
But if the empty bucket is place upside down, thus trapping a 5Ltr volume of air, the weight required to sink the bucket is more than the weight of the 5 Ltrs of water, is this true, and is there a formula for working out the volume of Air trapped and what weight is required to sink it?
 
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mrmike said:
But if the empty bucket is place upside down, thus trapping a 5Ltr volume of air, the weight required to sink the bucket is more than the weight of the 5 Ltrs of water, is this true, and is there a formula for working out the volume of Air trapped and what weight is required to sink it?
No, the force is equal to the weight of 5 litters of water.
 

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