Odd question I don't have an answer to.....

[Parks 788]

Literally been thinking of this most of the day. I can't figure it out so please forgive me if the answer is easy and right in front of my face. Never came close to taking a physics or higher level math course in all my years of education. So, here it is.

Hypothetically, say I have a large swimming pool that weighed 1 million pounds sitting on a very large scale as if I was weighing a large bowl of water. Now, if I could hypothetically float a boat in that same pool that also weighed 1 million pounds would the combined weight of the pool and the boat then weigh 2 million pounds on the scale?

 

[adamsredlines]

Boats work by weighing less than the water they displace...so if the bowl was 100% full and had no room to expand and then overflowed...then it would weigh the weight of 2 million pounds, minus the water that overflowed.

If the bowl was HUGE and had room to displace that water, and just raise the water level when it was displaced and thus no overflow (loss)...then yeah you'd weight 2 million pounds.

 

[MacFromOK]

Yep. The water only provides bouyancy, not weightlessness.


EDIT: Lol, as usual... too slow.

 

[Cowcatcher]

A million pound boat? You got lots of guns huh.

 

[kirk1978]

This was the boat all my guns were on when it went down....

 

[Okie4570]

If you'll notice the "weight" of large ships, it will be listed as its displacement. Like the USS Ronald Reagan has a displacement of 101400 long tons.

 

[xseler]

An easier way (weigh) to think about it is to pour the water into the boat and set the swimming pool on top of the boat. Still has the same articles to be weighed, just in a different format.

 

[Louro]

Dang, you guys are smart. So what weights more salt water or fresh water?

 

[Aries]

Okay, I have a question too.

If one centipede wants to kick another centipede in the shins, does he do it one leg at a time, or lean with 50 and kick with 50??

 

[swampratt]

Dang, you guys are smart. So what weights more salt water or fresh water?

Salt is heavier than water as it sinks into the glass of water if poured.

If you are measuring by volume the Salt water weighs more.
Cubic foot of Salt water (on average) 64.1 lbs, while a cubic foot of fresh water weighs only 62.4 lbs