Why do boats float?

Question

Why do boats float?

Answer 1

Heartles is correct about that, no matter what she said!! Keep up the great work kid!!

Answer 2

They weigh less than the water they displace.

Answer 3

they are made to displace water.

Answer 4

They float because they are basically hollow. Water has a specific weight of approximately 62.5 pounds per cubic foot. For every cubic foot of air that is inside the boat, there is approximately 62.5 pounds of boat that can float.

If the inside of a boat contains 100 cubic feet of air then the boat will be able to be 6200 pounds and still float. Most boats hold a lot more air than 100 cubic feet. But, for every extra cubic foot of air in the boat, there will be 62.5 more pounds the boat can weigh (with contents, of course).

Additionally, the density of the materials that make up the boat can play with the numbers a bit too.

Answer 5

Because they weigh less than the water they are displacing.

Answer 6

Lets make this simple:

Imagine if you could freeze the water with the boat still in the water.  Now imagine if you could remove the boat from the ice.  You now have a void where the boat use to be.  Kind of like a mold or something.  You are now looking at the amount of space or amount of water that boat displaces.  Let's say that it would take 100 gallons of water to fill that void where the boat use to be.  Now imagine if you had a giant scale and put the boat on one side and 100 gallons on the other side.  If the water side weighs more than the boat, then the boat will float.  If the boat weighs more than she will sink.

For a more technical explanation, look up "buoyancy".

Answer 7

Take a drinking glass. Fill a pan with water. Push the glass into the water. Notice the level of the water increases in the pan. The glass will push down on the water until the pressure of the water equals the weight of the glass. As you apply more pressure, the glass sinks lower and the water rises higher.

You are displacing the water. The water is pushing back trying to fill the hole.

Answer 8

cus if it didnt then it wud sick and that is no gud