The Pool
Classical Mechanics
Level
1
An inflatable boat is floating in a swimming pool. You are standing to the side and want to throw a coin. Where should you throw the coin to raise the water lever higher?
Source: BrainManiacs
On the Boat
Nothing
In the Pool
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If the coin is thrown in the water , the coin sinks, and displaces water equal to it's own volume, and thus water level rises.
However if we throw the coin on the boat, the boat doesn't sink, but it goes down a bit. Even though this height is not much, since the cross sectional area of the boat is much higher, the volume displaced is still greater than the coin, and water level rises more than the first case.