Using water is an example, anything that is less dense than water will float on water. Anything that is denser than water will sink in water.
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well when the salt dissolves into the water it makes water considerably denser and there for the water can hold more weight by:Matthew Shouse
The denser the object, the more fluid it will have to displace. In order to float it must displace more weight in fluid than the object weighs
Density. An object will float in a substance if its density is less than the density of the substance. The density of water is 1 kg /L or 1 g/ cm3. Anything with a density less than this will float.
Is this the density of a liquid or an object? If this is the density of a liquid and you want to make an object float, than the density of the object should be less than 2.7. If this is the density of an object you are trying to make float, than the density of the liquid should be greater than 2.7.
It's actually pretty easy. If the density of the substance is higher than the density of water, the object will sink. If the density of the substance is lower than the density of water, the object will float. Be aware though that various substances may have dissolved into the water, thus changing its density. For example, seawater has a different density than fresh water.
A material needs a lower density than water to float in water. Ships float in water because their average density is lower than water. The average density includes the steel hull and the air inside the hull.
The density of clear float glass, according to Pilkington Ltd., its original manufacturer, is 2.5 g.cm-3.