Debbie was doing a science lab, and she was instructed to decide whether a piece of plastic would float or sink without actually putting the plastic in the water. How could she do this?

Question

A.
This is not possible.
B.
find the mass of the plastic and compare it to the mass of a beaker of water
C.
find the volume of the plastic and compare it to the density of water
D.
find the density of the plastic and compare it to the density of water

Answer 1

Debbie can determine whether the piece of plastic will float or sink by finding the density of the plastic and comparing it to the density of water. The principle is that an object will float if its density is less than the density of the fluid it is placed in (in this case, water), and it will sink if its density is greater.

So the correct answer is:

D. find the density of the plastic and compare it to the density of water.