How much coconut oil must the bowl displace in order to float?

Question

A metal bowl with a weight of 1.25 N is placed in a larger kitchen container filled with coconut oil. How much coconut oil must the bowl displace in order to float? For reference, the mass density of coconut oil is about 903 g/liter and its weight density is about 8.85 N/liter. Please give your answer in liters.

Answer 1

To determine the amount of coconut oil the metal bowl must displace in order to float, we must use the principle of buoyancy.

The principle of buoyancy states that an object will float if the weight of the fluid it displaces is equal to its own weight.

given:

Weight of the bowl = 1.25N

Mass density of coconut oil = 0.903 kg/l

weight of coconut oil that must be displaced = 1.25N

Thus,

1.25N = (density of coconut oil) x (volume of coconut oil) x (gravitational acceleration)

1.25N = 0.903kg/l x volume x 9.81m/s²

thus volume = 0.141 liters