The buoyant (upward) force is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Which statement describes this principle?

The buoyant (upward) force is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Which statement describes this principle?

• A. The weight of displaced fluid
• B. The mass of the object
• C. The velocity of the object
• D. The surface area of the object

Answer: (A)

Archimedes’ principle is at play here: the buoyant force acting upward on a submerged object equals the weight of the fluid that the object displaces. That means the strength of the buoyancy depends on how much fluid is pushed out of the way, which is the submerged volume times the fluid’s density (and gravity). The option that states the weight of the displaced fluid captures this directly, since weight combines both the displaced volume and the fluid’s density under gravity. The other ideas don’t set the buoyant force in the same way. The mass of the object isn’t the buoyant force (buoyancy can be greater or less than the object’s weight depending on density). Velocity relates to drag, not buoyancy, and surface area affects drag as well, not the fundamental upward force from displaced fluid.

Archimedes’ principle is at play here: the buoyant force acting upward on a submerged object equals the weight of the fluid that the object displaces. That means the strength of the buoyancy depends on how much fluid is pushed out of the way, which is the submerged volume times the fluid’s density (and gravity). The option that states the weight of the displaced fluid captures this directly, since weight combines both the displaced volume and the fluid’s density under gravity.

The other ideas don’t set the buoyant force in the same way. The mass of the object isn’t the buoyant force (buoyancy can be greater or less than the object’s weight depending on density). Velocity relates to drag, not buoyancy, and surface area affects drag as well, not the fundamental upward force from displaced fluid.