Critical Thinking Scenario: You have two blocks floating in a fluid and you can

Question

Critical Thinking Scenario: You have two blocks floating in a fluid and you can only see the top of the blocks floating above the water. One block has a higher elevation than the other. 1. Could the two blocks have the same density? Explain Could the block on the left (the one with higher elevation) be less dense than the shorter one? Explain 2. 3. If the two blocks have the same total height, which one is more dense? Explain. 4. What are two reasons that continents are higher than ocean basins? Consider mountains and valleys: they are both made of continental crust. What must the bottom of the continental crust look like beneath these regions? Be specific about percentages and explain your reasoning. Drawing a sketch may help. 5.

Explanation / Answer

1. Yes,the two blocks can have the same density. The reason why one shows higher elevation than the other is because it might have a different volume or mass. Density of any object is= mass per unit volume.

2. If the mass and volumeare same for both of them,in that case the one with higher elevation will have less density because for the same amount of mass when their volumes are are also same,their densities will be different,since the shorter one is sinking more,its implied that its more dense,its mass volume ratio is higher.

3. If they have the same height then,assuming they have the same volume and mass as well,then the taller one will have the lower density,as explained earlier.

4. Continents have a lower density of 2.7gcm3 whereaas ocean basins have the density of 3.2g/cm3.

continents are made up of granite mostly,whose main elements are light metals like aluminium,sodium and pottasium,ocean basins are made up of basalt rocks which are solidified form of lava,its main elements are iron and magnesium,the metals with higher density.

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