You are sitting in a boat on a lake, you have with you in the boat a large rock. You throw the rock out of the boat and it sinks to the bottom of the lake, does the water level of the lake go up, down or stay the same?

Whilst in the boat the rock (and you) are floating, this means that the amount of water displaced by the rock is the mass of the rock. When the rock sinks to the bottom of the lake the amount of water displaced by the rock is the volume of the rock.
As the rock sinks to the bottom of the lake, we know that the rock is more dense than water.
As the rock is more dense than water, the rock will displace more (a greater volume of) water when floating than when at the bottom of the lake. This means that after throwing the rock out of the boat the water level of the lake as a whole will go down.

Answered by Jonathan B. Physics tutor

8294 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Show Maxwell's equations in free space satisfy the wave equation


A source of green laser light has a wavelength of 560nm, what is its frequency? Give your answer to an appropriate number of significant figures and using the correct units.


What is Coulomb's law


Explain the term 'coupling medium' and why it is used in ultrasound imaging.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences