READ THE TEXT, THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW : Archimedes’ PrincipleArchimedes who has gone down in history as the guy ran naked through the street of Syracuse shouting
“Eureka!” – or “I have it” in Greek was charged with proving that a new crown made for Hiero II, the
King of Syracuse was not pure gold. King Hiero II who had commissioned a new royal crown
provided solid gold to the goldsmith. When the crown arrived, King Hiero II was suspicious that the
5 goldsmith only used some of the gold, kept the rest for himself and added silver to make the crown the
correct weight.
Archimedes was asked to determine whether or not the crown was pure gold without harming it in the
process. Archimedes who thought long and hard could not find a method for proving that the crown was
solid gold. Soon after, he filled a bathtub and noticed that water spilled over the edge as he got in and
10 realized that the water displaced by his body was equal to the weight of his body.
Knowing that gold was heavier than other metals, the crown maker could have substituted the gold.
His method to determine that the crown was not pure gold. Forgetting that he was undressed, he went
running naked down the street from his house to the king palace shouting “Eureka”
He did several experiments to support his invention. Finally he came to a conclusion that any object
15 which is immersed in a liquid is buoyed up by a force that is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by
the object. This is known as Archimedes’ principle.
According to this principle, if a rock which weighs 100 pounds and has a volume of a cubic foot
is submerged in water, splashes out 1 cubic foot of water which weighs 62 pounds. Archimedes
explained that the gravitational pull on the rock is 100 pounds downward and the buoyant force is 62
20 pounds upward. Out of water, people would need to exert a force of 100 pounds to lift a rock. In the
water people would have to exert a force of 100 pounds minus 62 pounds. It means 38 pounds.
The buoyant force of a liquid, or how much it pushes upward, depends on the density of the
liquid. A body will float if its density is less than that of the liquid in which it is immersed; it will
sink if its density is greater. Ice is less dense than water. Therefore, icebergs float on the surface of
25 the ocean. The density of steel ships which are designed with many spaces filled with air is less than
that of water.
Finally, by implementing this invention, Archimedes solved the King’s problem. He has found that
the crown consisted of false gold. By this conclusion, then the King furiously punished the goldsmith.
1. What was the King’s problem suggested to Archimedes? ___________________________________
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2. Did Archimedes immediately answer the King’s question? ___________________________________
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3. What was the conclusion of Archimedes after doing many experiments? _______________________
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4. What is the example according to Archimedes’ principle? ___________________________________
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5. What was the answer of Archimedes to solve the Kings’s problem? ___________________________
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