| Step | Derivation/Formula | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | \[W = mg\] | The weight of each object is given by the product of its mass and gravitational acceleration, and since the masses are equal, the weights are also equal. |
| 2 | \[F_b = \rho_{\text{water}}\,V_{\text{disp}}\,g\] | The buoyant force on a floating object is equal to the weight of the displaced water, where \(\rho_{\text{water}}\) is the density of water, \(V_{\text{disp}}\) is the displaced volume, and \(g\) is gravitational acceleration. |
| 3 | \[F_b = W\] | For an object that floats, the buoyant force must balance the object’s weight (Archimedes’ principle). |
| 4 | \[F_{b,\text{K}} = mg \quad \text{and} \quad F_{b,\text{L}} = mg\] | Since both objects have the same mass, their weights (and hence the buoyant forces needed to float) are the same. |
| 5 | \[\boxed{F_{b,\text{K}} = F_{b,\text{L}}}\] | This shows that the buoyant forces are equal regardless of their density differences because the buoyant force equals the weight of the object in equilibrium. |
| 6 | Final Answer | Thus, the correct answer is (d) since the buoyant forces are equal on the objects with equal mass. |
A Major Upgrade To Phy Is Coming Soon — Stay Tuned
We'll help clarify entire units in one hour or less — guaranteed.
A self paced course with videos, problems sets, and everything you need to get a 5. Trusted by over 15k students and over 200 schools.
A sphere of mass \(0.5\) \(\text{kg}\) is dropped into a column of oil. At the instant the sphere becomes completely submerged in the oil, the sphere is moving downward at \(8\) \(\text{m/s}\), the buoyancy force on the sphere is \(4.0\) \(\text{N}\), and the fluid frictional force is \(4.0\) \(\text{N}\). Which of the following describes the motion of the sphere at this instant?
A Venturi tube has a pressure difference of \( 15\,000 \) \( \text{Pa} \). The entrance radius is \( 3 \) \( \text{cm} \), while the exit radius is \( 1 \) \( \text{cm} \). What are the entrance velocity, exit velocity, and flow rate if the fluid is gasoline \( (\rho = 700 \) \( \text{kg/m}^3 ) \)?
Marc’s favorite ride at Busch Gardens is the Flying Umbrella, which is lifted by a hydraulic jack. The operator activates the ride by applying a force of \( 72 \) \( \text{N} \) to a \( 30 \)\( \text{cm}^2 \) cylindrical piston, which holds the \( 20,000 \)\( \text{N} \) ride off the ground. What is the area of the piston that holds the ride?
An ideal fluid flows through a pipe with radius \( Q \) and flow speed \( V \). If the pipe splits up into three separate paths, each with radius \( \frac{Q}{2} \), what is the flow speed through each of the paths?
Two paper cups are suspended by strings and hung near each other. They are separated by about \( 10 \) \( \text{cm} \). Explain what happens to the cups when you blow air between them. Hint: Do they remain still, moves away from each other or move towards each other?
A solid titanium sphere of radius \( 0.35 \) \( \text{m} \) has a density \( 4500 \) \( \text{kg/m}^3 \). It is held suspended completely underwater by a cable. What is the tension in the cable?
A cube of unknown material and uniform density floats in a container of water with \(60\%\) of its volume submerged. If this same cube were placed in a container of oil with density \(800\) \(\text{kg/m}^3\), what portion of the cube’s volume would be submerged while floating?
A \(2\)-N force is used to push a small piston \(10\) \(\text{cm}\) downward in a simple hydraulic machine. If the opposite large piston rises by \(0.5\) \(\text{cm}\), what is the maximum weight the large piston can lift?
A person is standing on a railroad station platform when a high-speed train passes by. The person will tend to be
Water of density \( \rho \) flows through the section of circular pipe shown in the figure. At Point A, where the diameter of the pipe is \( D \), the water has a pressure \( P_0 \) and velocity \( v_0 \). Point B is located a vertical distance \( H \) above Point A in a section of the pipe that has diameter \( 2D \).
Which of the following expressions is equal to the pressure of the water at Point B?
By continuing you (1) agree to our Terms of Use and Terms of Sale and (2) consent to sharing your IP and browser information used by this site’s security protocols as outlined in our Privacy Policy.
| Kinematics | Forces |
|---|---|
| \(\Delta x = v_i t + \frac{1}{2} at^2\) | \(F = ma\) |
| \(v = v_i + at\) | \(F_g = \frac{G m_1 m_2}{r^2}\) |
| \(v^2 = v_i^2 + 2a \Delta x\) | \(f = \mu N\) |
| \(\Delta x = \frac{v_i + v}{2} t\) | \(F_s =-kx\) |
| \(v^2 = v_f^2 \,-\, 2a \Delta x\) |
| Circular Motion | Energy |
|---|---|
| \(F_c = \frac{mv^2}{r}\) | \(KE = \frac{1}{2} mv^2\) |
| \(a_c = \frac{v^2}{r}\) | \(PE = mgh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{r}{g}}\) | \(KE_i + PE_i = KE_f + PE_f\) |
| \(W = Fd \cos\theta\) |
| Momentum | Torque and Rotations |
|---|---|
| \(p = mv\) | \(\tau = r \cdot F \cdot \sin(\theta)\) |
| \(J = \Delta p\) | \(I = \sum mr^2\) |
| \(p_i = p_f\) | \(L = I \cdot \omega\) |
| Simple Harmonic Motion | Fluids |
|---|---|
| \(F = -kx\) | \(P = \frac{F}{A}\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{l}{g}}\) | \(P_{\text{total}} = P_{\text{atm}} + \rho gh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{m}{k}}\) | \(Q = Av\) |
| \(x(t) = A \cos(\omega t + \phi)\) | \(F_b = \rho V g\) |
| \(a = -\omega^2 x\) | \(A_1v_1 = A_2v_2\) |
| Constant | Description |
|---|---|
| [katex]g[/katex] | Acceleration due to gravity, typically [katex]9.8 , \text{m/s}^2[/katex] on Earth’s surface |
| [katex]G[/katex] | Universal Gravitational Constant, [katex]6.674 \times 10^{-11} , \text{N} \cdot \text{m}^2/\text{kg}^2[/katex] |
| [katex]\mu_k[/katex] and [katex]\mu_s[/katex] | Coefficients of kinetic ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) and static ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) friction, dimensionless. Static friction ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) is usually greater than kinetic friction ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) as it resists the start of motion. |
| [katex]k[/katex] | Spring constant, in [katex]\text{N/m}[/katex] |
| [katex] M_E = 5.972 \times 10^{24} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Earth |
| [katex] M_M = 7.348 \times 10^{22} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Moon |
| [katex] M_M = 1.989 \times 10^{30} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Sun |
| Variable | SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]s[/katex] (Displacement) | [katex]\text{meters (m)}[/katex] |
| [katex]v[/katex] (Velocity) | [katex]\text{meters per second (m/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]a[/katex] (Acceleration) | [katex]\text{meters per second squared (m/s}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]t[/katex] (Time) | [katex]\text{seconds (s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]m[/katex] (Mass) | [katex]\text{kilograms (kg)}[/katex] |
| Variable | Derived SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]F[/katex] (Force) | [katex]\text{newtons (N)}[/katex] |
| [katex]E[/katex], [katex]PE[/katex], [katex]KE[/katex] (Energy, Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy) | [katex]\text{joules (J)}[/katex] |
| [katex]P[/katex] (Power) | [katex]\text{watts (W)}[/katex] |
| [katex]p[/katex] (Momentum) | [katex]\text{kilogram meters per second (kgm/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\omega[/katex] (Angular Velocity) | [katex]\text{radians per second (rad/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\tau[/katex] (Torque) | [katex]\text{newton meters (Nm)}[/katex] |
| [katex]I[/katex] (Moment of Inertia) | [katex]\text{kilogram meter squared (kgm}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]f[/katex] (Frequency) | [katex]\text{hertz (Hz)}[/katex] |
Metric Prefixes
Example of using unit analysis: Convert 5 kilometers to millimeters.
Start with the given measurement: [katex]\text{5 km}[/katex]
Use the conversion factors for kilometers to meters and meters to millimeters: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}}[/katex]
Perform the multiplication: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}} = 5 \times 10^3 \times 10^3 \, \text{mm}[/katex]
Simplify to get the final answer: [katex]\boxed{5 \times 10^6 \, \text{mm}}[/katex]
Prefix | Symbol | Power of Ten | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
Pico- | p | [katex]10^{-12}[/katex] | |
Nano- | n | [katex]10^{-9}[/katex] | |
Micro- | µ | [katex]10^{-6}[/katex] | |
Milli- | m | [katex]10^{-3}[/katex] | |
Centi- | c | [katex]10^{-2}[/katex] | |
Deci- | d | [katex]10^{-1}[/katex] | |
(Base unit) | – | [katex]10^{0}[/katex] | |
Deca- or Deka- | da | [katex]10^{1}[/katex] | |
Hecto- | h | [katex]10^{2}[/katex] | |
Kilo- | k | [katex]10^{3}[/katex] | |
Mega- | M | [katex]10^{6}[/katex] | |
Giga- | G | [katex]10^{9}[/katex] | |
Tera- | T | [katex]10^{12}[/katex] |
One price to unlock most advanced version of Phy across all our tools.
per month
Billed Monthly. Cancel Anytime.
Try our free calculator to see what you need to get a 5 on the 2026 AP Physics 1 exam.
Understand you mistakes quicker.
Phy automatically provides feedback so you can improve your responses.
10 Free Credits To Get You Started
By continuing you agree to nerd-notes.com Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and our usage of user data.
Feeling uneasy about your next physics test? We'll boost your grade in 3 lessons or less—guaranteed
