archimedes' law
Archimedes law explains why some objects float in fluids even though they are very heavy. It all depends on how much fluid they displace. The cruise ship pictured in the opening image is extremely heavy, yet it stays afloat. If a steel ball with the same weight as the ship were placed in water, it would sink to the bottom. This is modeled in the Figure below . The reason the ball sinks is that its shape is very compact, so it displaces relatively little water. The volume of water displaced by the steel ball weighs less than the ball itself, so the buoyant force is not as great as the force of gravity pulling down on the ball. Thus, the ball sinks.