Question

While washing some berries, a student observes that the blueberries sink in water and the strawberries float in water. Which statement explains this observation?

a) A strawberry has less weight than a blueberry.
b) A blueberry has greater volume than a strawberry.
c) A strawberry has more mass than a blueberry.
d) A blueberry has greater density than a strawberry.

Answer 1

The observation that blueberries sink and strawberries float in water is because a blueberry has greater density than a strawberry, causing it to sink while the less dense strawberry floats.

Step-by-step explanation:

When observing that blueberries sink and strawberries float in water, the correct explanation is related to density. Density is a measure of how much mass is contained in a given volume.

The statement that explains this observation is: d) A blueberry has greater density than a strawberry. This means that, for a given volume, a blueberry has more mass than the same volume of strawberry, causing it to sink, while the strawberry, with less mass for its volume, floats.

We can relate this to the concept that an object will float if its average density is less than that of the surrounding fluid. Conversely, it will sink if its density is greater.