Can a battleship float in a bathtub?(see card 8) Of course, you have to imagine a very big bathtub or a very small battleship. In either case, there is just a bit of water all around and under the ship. Specifically, suppose the ship weighs 100 tons (a very small ship) and the water in the tub weighs 100 pounds. Will it float or touch bottom?
a) It will float if there is enough water to go all around it
b) It will touch bottom because the ship’s weight exceeds the water’s weight
The answer is: a. There are a lot of ways to show why. This way was suggested by a student. Consider the ship floating in the ocean (sketch I). Next, surround the ship with a big plastic baggie — this is actually done sometimes with oil tankers —
(sketch II). Next, let the ocean freeze except for the water in the baggie next to the ship (sketch III). Finally, get an ice sculptor to cut a bathtub out of the solid ice and you have it (sketch IV).
