Two life preservers have identical volumes, but one is filled with styrofoam while the other is filled with sand. When the two life preservers are fully submerged, the buoyant force is greater on the
One filled with
A) sand.
B) styrofoam.
C) same on each as long as their volumes are the same

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The buoyant force on an object is determined by the volume of fluid it displaces, not by its content. Since both life preservers have identical volumes and are fully submerged, the volume of water displaced by each is the same, leading to an equal buoyant force on each, according to Archimedes' principle.

Two Life Preservers Have Identical Volumes, but One Is Filled