Who is asking: Student
Level: Middle
Question:
I am having some serious problems with the last question on my Independent
Study Unit. The question is A spherical snowball has diameter 10cm
and density 0.75g/cm3. It is placed in a cylindrical can
with diameer 12cm.
After the snow melts it turns to water with density 1.0g/cm3.
What will be the depth of the water in the can (to 1 decimal place)?
Well
that's it I really don't understand it so it would be a great help
if you could figure it out.
Thanks
Hi,
As the snow melts and changes to water the mass remains constant but the density changes, so the volume changes. Use the expression for the volume of a sphere
V = 4/3 pi r3
to find the volume of the snowball in cubic centimeters. Every cubic centimeter weighs 0.75 grams and thus you can find the mass of the snowball.
When the snowball melts its mass (now water) remains the same and since the density of water is 1.0g/cm3you can find its volume. The water is in a cylinder of diameter 12 centimeters, and thus radius of 6 centimeters. The volume of a cylinder is
V = pi r2 h
You know V and r and thus you can find h.
Cheers,
Penny