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Jesssss! asked in SportsSwimming & Diving · 1 decade ago

Why do swimmers float better in the ocean than they do in freshwater? I need answers ASAP!?

PLEASE HELP. Please give details if so, or even the link to a site with the answer works. thank you!

Update:

Thanks everyone!

20 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    #1.When a body floats it displaces fluid (water here) equal in weight to its own weight.

    #2.Buoyancy is equal to weight of the fluid displaced

    so that we can say for a floating body:

    buoyancy = weight of the fluid displaced = weight floating body

    #3.Sea water density is more than that of fresh water,

    so a lesser amount of sea water provides the required buoyancy to enable the swimmer float, and less sea water needs to be displaced.

    This makes the job of swimmer easier.

    [BTW: A boiled egg floats easily in salty water for the same reason]

  • ZEE
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    If an object that is placed in water weighs less than the water it displaces....it will float.(In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place, so that it can be weighed.)

    Take an object and place it in fresh water. The object will push water out of a spot and take the place that the water was in.This is called "displacement".If the object floats, this means that the water that was displaced ( pushed out of the way) weighs more than the object. If you were to take the water that was pushed out of the way and set it on a scale--you would find that it weighs more than the object.

    The upward force from the water is stronger than the downward force of the object. If it were the other way around--- the object would sink.

    Take the same object mentioned above and place it in the same amount of water....but this time salt water. It would displace the same amount of liquid yet if you were to weigh this displaced salt water you would find that it weighs more than the fresh water.

    Because it is heavier it's upward force on the object is stronger.

    Experiment:

    Take some fresh water and some salt water.

    Put them in seperate containers.

    Place objects that are identical and which float in each container.

    Push them under water and then let them go.

    Which one comes up faster?

    The one with the stronger upward force.

    I think I got that right.......somebody correct me if I didn't.

    Check out the site below.....it knows more than I do :)

  • 1 decade ago

    A floating body displaces its own weight by volume. The equation that relates mass, m, with volume, v, involves density,d.

    density = mass/volume

    mass = density x volume

    Ocean water has a density greater than that of fresh water because of salts and all the other things that disolve in it. Therefore for the same mass, the volume displaced by a floating object will be less than the volume displaced in fresh water. That is, floating becomes easier.

    Weight = mass x acceleration due to gravity, g.

    = mg

    g is a constant. It has the same value for every object.

    Source(s): www.babasanyacraig.com
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Salt water makes everything more boyant. Go to Utah and jump in the Great Salt Lake and see for yourself.

    Watch the movie SLC Punk. They try to ditch a stolen car into The Great Salt lake and it doesnt work because it just floats there and never sinks.....Funny

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  • 1 decade ago

    Salt

  • 1 decade ago

    Because salt water is more dense than freshwater. Fresh water is pure H20, with trace elements, while saltwater has a large amount of other elements (Na, Ch, Mg, Si, Ni, etc etc...) Giving it a higher density than freshwater.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    SALT ,now everybody knows this .

    and some seas are saltier than others and there you float even more ,

    like the Adriatic,,the black sea,

    the dead sea is the saltiest ,you can almost walk on the water,

    a lot of people drown inlakes ,where you can sink like a stone ,because there is no salt

  • 1 decade ago

    The salt helps them to float.

  • 1 decade ago

    In fresh water there is salt, which makes you float. But in pool water, there is non, so you dont float as well. I hope i helped, i am NOT a science whiz but i am pretty sure bout this!

  • 1 decade ago

    Salt water weighs 64.0 pounds per cubic foot. Fresh water weighs 62.4 pounds per cubic foot. Like ZEE said in his long winded answer, when you toss something into water it displaces water and the amount displaced causes an upward force on the object equil to the weight of the amount of water displaced.

    Source(s): U.S. Navy Diving Manual, page 2-9, vol. 3 or http://www.coralspringsscuba.com/miscellaneous/usn...
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