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An object will float in a substance if it is less dense that it, and if they are more they will sink. Water is 1g/mL, and most people are quite similar to this (so close that usually if someone in water breathed out, they sink, breath in, they float). What makes the difference is not how much someone weighs, but their density, which depends on how much muscle and fat they have. Fat is actually less dense than water - so having more fat will actually make a person more bouoyant. Muscle is more dense than water so a person having more muscle will sink. So a person weighing 240 pounds could float while a 160 pound person could sink - it depends on what their body is like.
Because of their density: People with a lower body fat percentage (fat is less dense than water) sometimes cannot stay on the surface of the water without motion to propell themselves upwards, although most people *do* remain at the surface if they relax and lean back.

Bone is considerably more dense than water, muscle is a little more dense, and fat less dense.

If the weight of water you displace is less than your own weight, you will sink.

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9y ago

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