Chapter 10, Problem 114A

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: Whether the block of wood sinks or floats in water needs to be determined.

Concept Introduction: The density of a substance is calculated as follows:

  $d=\frac{m}{V}$

Here, m is mass and V is volume.

Explanation of Solution

The measurement for the block of wood is given $2.75\text{ cm}\times \text{4}\text{.80 cm}\times \text{7}\text{.50 cm}$ . Also, the mass of the block of wood is 84.0 g. The density of wood can be calculated as follow:

  $d=\frac{m}{V}$

Here, m is mass and V is volume.

Substitute the values,

  $\begin{array}{c}d=\frac{84.0\text{ g}}{2.75\text{ cm}\times \text{4}\text{.80 cm}\times \text{7}\text{.50 cm}}\\ =0.85{\text{ g/cm}}^3\end{array}$

A substance with a density of more than water will sink in water and a substance with a density of less than water will float on it.

The density of water is $1{\text{ g/cm}}^3$ . Since the density of the wood block is less than that of water, it will float on water.