Plastic foam is about 0.10 times as dense as water. What weight of bricks could you stack on a 1m x 1m x 0.10m slab of foam, so that the slab of foam floats in the water, leaving the bricks dry?

Answer: Weight = 98.1N

Explanation:

Density of water = 1000 kg/m^3

Given that the Plastic foam is about 0.10 times as dense as water. That is,

Density of plastic foam = 0.1 * 1000 = 100kg/m^3

The volume V = 1 * 1*0.1 = 0.1 m^3

Density is the ratio of mass to volume

Density = mass/volume

Let us substitute for density and volume to get mass.

100 = M/0.1

Make M the subject of formula

M = 100 * 0.1 = 10 kg

Weight = mg

Where g = 9.81 m/s

Substitute the M and g into the formula

Weight = 10 * 9.81 = 98.1 N

Therefore, the weight of the brick is 98.1 N