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[Phys-L] Re: Buoyancy challenge activity



Yes, there are a lot of questions but all the particpants have same kind of foil and marbles.

My suggestions was to make a square tray by 'pinching' 1/6 L X 1/6 L squares at each corner of the L x L square aluminum sheet.

~ Hasan Fakhruddin

________________________________

From: Forum for Physics Educators on behalf of Folkerts, Timothy J
Sent: Tue 10/11/2005 5:24 PM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Re: Buoyancy challenge activity



There are all sorts of additional pieces of info needed before being
able to answer this...

* how stiff is the foil? Will it hold its shape under the weight of the
marbles?
* how thick is the foil? Thicker foil will obviously weigh more than
thin foil and hold fewer marbles.
* what is the density of the marbles? You could hold up more wooden
balls than steel bearings.
* what is the ratio of marble diameter to foil size? For a small
squares, the actual packing of the spheres might affect the preferred
shape.

Since buoyancy is related to volume, the simpler question would be "what
is the max volume you could create with the square foil". Presumably it
is some sort of square base with slightly beveled sides. Even that is
somewhat complicated by the corners, where you have a little excess
material.

Another standard question is "what is the max volume from a given area
of foil, where you could cut & re-assemble the pieces". If the sides
are at right angles, there is a fairly simple solution to this problem.


Tim Folkerts