Archimedes' Principle For Kids: Knowledge For Kids!

Martha Martins
Oct 30, 2023 By Martha Martins
Originally Published on Feb 10, 2022
Archimedes' principle experiment shows a cup with a cork floating in water and a submerged coin.
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 5.3 Min

According to Archimedes' principle, an object immersed in fluid experiences a buoyant force equal to the force of gravity on the fluid displaced.

The scientific law of buoyancy is another name for it. The weight of the displaced fluid is equal to the weight of the volume of the displaced fluid.

The upward or buoyant force of a body floating in a liquid or gas is equal in magnitude to the floating object's weight and acts in the opposite direction. As a result, the object does not rise or fall in this case. Archimedes' principle is a physical law fundamental to fluid mechanics.

Archimedes, a famous ancient Greek mathematician, and inventor devised this theory. The buoyant force is another concept we should be aware of.

A fluid exerts an upward force against the weight of a partially submerged or fully immersed object in the fluid. Due to the weight of the fluid displaced, pressure in the fluid rises with depth. So, the pressure at the bottom of a liquid column is larger than at the top.

An Easy Definition Of Archimedes' Principle For Kids

Archimedes was a renowned mathematician who was born in 287 BC in Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. He was a brilliant mathematician in ancient Greece. Phidias, his father, was a mathematician and astronomer. His celebrity sprang from his friendship with King Hiero. This person spent the majority of his time attempting to resolve issues for the king.

The golden crown was one of Archimedes' greatest solutions. King Hieron II of Syracuse ordered a pure gold crown, but he suspected the crown manufacturer of deceiving him and substituting silver. As a result, Heron asked Archimedes to determine whether the crown was made of pure gold.

Archimedes began by taking one mass of gold and silver, both of equal weight to the crown. Second, he filled a vessel halfway with water, added silver, and measured how much water was displaced by silver. Finally, Archimedes refilled the jug with water and added gold. The gold was less effective at water displayed than the silver.

When Archimedes installed the crown, he discovered that it displaced more water than gold, so it was combined with silver. He devised this solution when bathing. When Archimedes noticed the water in his bathtub rise as he entered in, he raced out naked, exclaiming, 'Eureka!' ('I have found it!').

Archimedes' Principle Of Buoyancy For Kids

Tonnes of material, including steel and metal, go into making cruise ships and aircraft carriers, and they float. A massive metal anchor, on the other hand, will descend to the ocean's depths if thrown off the deck.

Why? When immersed or partially immersed, Archimedes' principle defines how objects float or sink. It is represented by the buoyant force in Newtonian physics, whether immersed or partially immersed.

A fluid's density is a measure of its mass per unit volume, as Archimedes learned in the second century B.C., the denser an object is the more mass that object can fit into the same volume.

Objects sink if their density exceeds that of the fluid displaced in which it is submerged. Denser fluids, on the other hand, impose larger buoyant pressures on an object submerged or partially submerged in them.

When compared to a less dense body of water, individuals can float almost effortlessly at the top of an extremely salty lake or sea, such as the Great Salt Lake or the Dead Sea.

The upward or buoyant force can be better described using fluid pressure, which is a scientific law. Pressure is defined as a force per unit area.

Internal pressure exists in liquids, and it pushes against any objects submerged in the fluid. Water exerts a force per unit area on the object from all sides, wherever water is pressing against it.

Fluid pressure is also affected by the density of the liquid and its depth. The higher fluid pressure an object experiences, the deeper it is immersed in a fluid. This means that the bottom of a boat in water experiences much more fluid pressure pushing it up than the sides of the boat feel pulling in.

The Archimedes' principle which deals with the forces an object is subjected to as a result of the weight of the fluid surrounding it, is the basis for why ships float on surface water.

Archimedes' Principle: Science Journal For Kids

Children may wrongly respond, 'The weight is more' when asked why does an aluminum cylinder gets immersed in a fluid. Give each child two 5-by-5 in (12.7-by-12.7 cm) pieces of aluminum foil.

Calculate the combined mass of both. Tell the children to compact one square of foil into a tight ball, then put it into water and watch it sink.

Experiment with the second square until you get the aluminum to float. Because the volume has considerably expanded, but the weight has remained constant, when the aluminum is shaped like a boat, it will float.

The boat's hull is filled with air, which increases the volume without adding much weight. If the boat's mass is less than the water displaced, the object will float. There will be more water displaced by the boat than the ball if it has a hollow hull.

The principle of gravity is a force that tends to pull an object down through a fluid based on its mass. The buoyant force acts to push the object up as it begins to sink.

The object will sink if the gravitational force is larger than the buoyant force.

As the mass of the air displaced by helium balloons is larger than the mass of the helium and balloon, they float in the air. Because the buoyant force is larger than the gravitational force, a helium balloon tied with a ribbon will float.

Experiment with this concept by increasing the weight to increase the gravitational force. Increase the weight of pretzels on the ribbon until the balloon sinks. Now start nibbling on small pieces of pretzel until the balloon gently rises. Gravitational force equals buoyant force if you can get an object like the balloon to 'hover'.

Archimedes' Principle Simplified For Kids

For use against troops besieging Syracuse, Archimedes developed many claws, catapults, and trebuchet combat engines.

In the second century A.D., Archimedes used a heat-focusing contraption involving mirrors acting as a parabolic reflector to set invading ships on fire. Several modern-day experimenters have sought to demonstrate that this is possible, but their results have been varied. Archimedes was unfortunately murdered at the siege of Syracuse.

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Written by Martha Martins

Bachelor of Arts specializing in Linguistics

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Martha MartinsBachelor of Arts specializing in Linguistics

Martha is a full-time creative writer, content strategist, and aspiring screenwriter who communicates complex thoughts and ideas effectively. She has completed her Bachelor's in Linguistics from Nasarawa State University. As an enthusiast of public relations and communication, Martha is well-prepared to substantially impact your organization as your next content writer and strategist. Her dedication to her craft and commitment to delivering high-quality work enables her to create compelling content that resonates with audiences.

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