Lesson: Buoyant Force Physics

Students will be able to

• recognize that a submerged object displaces a volume of fluid equal to the volume of the submerged part of the object,
• recognize that fluid pressure acts on all the submerged surfaces of a submerged object,
• show that the difference between the fluid pressures on the top of and on the base of a submerged object results in a vertically upward force on the object (called upthrust),
• determine the buoyancy condition for an object by comparing the weight of the object to the upthrust on the object,
• use the formula buoyant force = fluid mass displaced  acceleration due to gravity.