Question #17

Suppose that you are in a boat in a closed pond, so no water can flow in or out of the pond. In your boat you have a large rock. A friend marks the water level on the side of the pond, then you throw the rock out of the boat into the pond, and it quickly sinks to the bottom. A model of this situation is shown below, where the boat floats in an aquarium with a lead weight rock; pieces of black tape mark the water level.

Which of the following statements most accurately describes what happens to the water level in the pond after the rock has been taken out of the boat and allowed to sink into the pond?

• (a) The water level in the pond will be higher.
• (b) The water level in the pond will be lower.
• (c) The water level in the pond will remain the same.

Click here for Answer #17 after June 19, 2000.

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