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Why do ships float? Why don't they sink? - Anonymous (age 10) Lexington, Ky USA A: It seems like they ought to sink because we're used to seeing things fall. But for the ship to sink it has to push aside some water, which has nowhere to go but up. So it's a question: does the ship 'want' to sink more than the water 'wants' not to rise? It turns out that just depends on whether the ship weighs more or less than the amount of water that would fill the same space. Real ships have lots of air inside, so they weigh less than the same volume of water, so they float. Mike W. Here's a cool experiment you could try. Fill your sink with water, then put a bowl in it. Now see how much weight you can put in the bowl before it sinks. You could even pour in water as the weight. If you use water, look at how high the water comes up on the inside and
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