Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

[Phys-L] Buoyancy 101



For those confused about imaginary momentum flow movies and wondering how a 5-year old could possibly comprehend Energy and charge conservation when many of us have no good conceptual definition of either energy or charge (not to mention time, mass, etc.) I offer a well known question about buoyancy, just in case anyone hasn't heard it.

You are sitting in a rowboat floating in a swimming pool. You have in one hand a banana and in the other a live chicken. There is an iron anchor in the bottom of the boat. In each of the following, describe what happens to the whater level in the pool.
1) You eat the banana
2) The chicken flies away (yes chickens can fly...a little)
3) You throw the anchor overboard into the pool.

This one you can ask to all levels of students and be confident you know the answers. ;-)

rwt

--
Richard Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College

free Physics educational software at
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html
NEW ENERGY MANAGEMENT SIMULATORS NOW AVAILABLE