Question

The density of water is approximately 1 g/cm?. An ice block with a height of 2 cm, length of 2 cm, width of 5 cm, and mass of 18.4 g is dropped in water. Will it float or sink? In 3-5 sentences, show your calculations and explain how you arrived at your conclusion in paragraph form using human-like language and high school grammar.

Answer 1

To determine whether the ice block will float or sink, we need to calculate its density and compare it to the density of water, which is about 1 g/cm³. The volume of the ice block can be calculated using the formula for volume: $\text{Volume}=\text{height}\times \text{length}\times \text{width}$, which gives us $2\text{ cm}\times 2\text{ cm}\times 5\text{ cm}=20{\text{ cm}}^3$.

Next, we can find the density of the ice block by dividing its mass by its volume: $\text{Density}=\frac{\text{mass}}{\text{volume}}=\frac{18.4\text{ g}}{20{\text{ cm}}^3}=0.92{\text{ g/cm}}^3$. Since the density of the ice block (0.92 g/cm³) is less than the density of water (1 g/cm³), the block will float. Thus, the ice block will not sink when it is dropped into water.