Suppose you are finding the weight of a beaker of water, and you have it on the balance and are ready to record the weight. Your partner dips the tip of his or her pen in the water, but does not touch the beaker or the balance. Does the presence of the pen affect the reading on the balance? If so, how? If not, why not?

Question

Leonard Farley

Physics

17 January, 11:31

Suppose you are finding the weight of a beaker of water, and you have it on the balance and are ready to record the weight. Your partner dips the tip of his or her pen in the water, but does not touch the beaker or the balance. Does the presence of the pen affect the reading on the balance? If so, how? If not, why not?

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Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Caitlin Mendez · Answer 1

Yes it would

Explanation:

The submerged portion of the pen would be affected by water buoyancy force which equals to the water weight that it displaces. By Newton's 3rd law, the pen would then make a reaction force on the water itself, which in turn affect the whole reading on the balance.