Page 1 of 4

Article title:
Using the Titanic to Teach Archimedes Principle
First
Thu 21 Dec 2006
posted:
Description: By Peter J. Yonko

One line in a scene from the movie Titanic was the inspiration for one of my
physics lessons. Watching this scene, I saw how I could use the mystique of
the great ship to bring Archimedes principle to life. In the scene, we see Mr.
Andrews, Titanic's designer, enter with several ship drawings. He unfolds
them on a table with great urgency. As Andrews explains the dire situation,
Captain Smith asks eagerly about the pumps. Andrews replies, From this
moment, no matter what I do, Titanic will founder. Mr. Ismay, an executive
with White Star Lines, says in disbelief, But this ship can't sink Andrews
sternly replies, She is made of iron, sir. I assure you she can and she will. It is
a mathematical certainty.

Article text:
By Peter J. Yonko

One line in a scene from the movie Titanic was the inspiration for one of my physics
lessons. Watching this scene, I saw how I could use the mystique of the great ship to bring
Archimedes principle to life. In the scene, we see Mr. Andrews, Titanic's designer, enter
with several ship drawings. He unfolds them on a table with great urgency. As Andrews
explains the dire situation, Captain Smith asks eagerly about the pumps. Andrews replies,
From this moment, no matter what I do, Titanic will founder. Mr. Ismay, an executive with
White Star Lines, says in disbelief, But this ship can't sink! Andrews sternly replies, She is
made of iron, sir. I assure you she can and she will. It is a mathematical certainty.

Behind this statement lies the principle that explains why Titanic was able to float and why
she could not remain afloat after striking the iceberg. A complete explanation of the
principle behind Andrews’ statement would not be appropriate for a feature film;
however, when studying fluids in a physics class, the story of the Titanic is perfect for
teaching Archimedes principle: a body wholly or partially submerged in a fluid is buoyed
up by a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. In the following months, as the
film's popularity grew it had an audience of over 100 million people, many of them
teenagers and knew that I had come across a valuable resource for teaching Archimedes
principle in my high school physics classes.

The producers of the film recreated Titanic with great detail. The audience was able to
understand what was happening to the ship after she struck the iceberg because of the
computer-generated images of her sinking. Mr. Andrews was certain of Titanic's demise
because he knew Archimedes principle. With more than four compartments flooded, it was
physically impossible for Titanic to stay afloat.

The following drawings (not to scale) have been included to bring to mind how Titanic was
structured, how the hull pushed away tons of water in order to buoy her up, and how Titanic
broke apart in her final moments. Drawings like these could be included in a computer-

http://www.titanic.com/modules/articles/print.php?id=44 15/01/2011
 Page 2 of 4

aided presentation program (i.e., Corel Presentations 8 or Microsoft PowerPoint). In

addition, showing the actual scene described in the first paragraph can further enhance the
presentation.

In order to relate the Titanic and Archimedes principle, some specific information about the
Titanic must be known. First, the hull was designed to displace (push away) 66,000 tons of
water. Its gross weight was 46,328 tons. Therefore, the Titanic had 19,672 tons (66,000 tons
- 46,328 tons) of extra displacement capacity. If Titanic lost more than 19,672 tons of
displacement capacity, her gross weight would exceed her buoyant force and she would
sink. The hull was divided into 16 compartments separated by 15 watertight bulkheads. For
my purposes in the classroom, I make what I believe to be a reasonable generalization: that
each compartment of the hull has the same displacement capacity: 4125 tons (66,000
tons/16 compartments).

After explaining to the class the generalizations regarding the calculations, the class
examines the loss of displacement capacity by compartment:

One flooded compartment: 19,672 - 4,125 = 15,547. Titanic is able to stay afloat.

Two flooded compartments: 19,672 - 8,250 = 11,422. Titanic is able to stay afloat.

http://www.titanic.com/modules/articles/print.php?id=44 15/01/2011
 Page 3 of 4

Three flooded compartments: 19,672 - 12,375 = 7,297. Titanic is able to stay afloat.

Four flooded compartments: 19,672 - 16,500 = 3,172. Titanic is able to stay afloat.

Five flooded compartments: 19,672 - 20,625 = -953. Titanic is not able to stay afloat.

After discussing how Archimedes principle relates to the Titanic, the students make their
own model boats to demonstrate the same principle. Simple boats can be made out of
plastic containers or cardboard covered with masking tape. Students can create a crude hull
(rectangular, triangular, or semicircular) out of these materials. Once the shape is decided
upon, the next task is to calculate the volume of the hull. When the volume of the hull is
known, the buoyant force can be calculated from Archimedes principle: Fb = rgV, where r
is the density of the displaced fluid (1000 kg/m3 for fresh water), g is the acceleration due
to due to gravity (9.81 m/s2), and V is the volume of the hull. If the upward buoyant force
is exceeded by the downward weight of any load placed in the boat, the boat will sink.
Students can predict the maximum number of paper clips or pennies their boats can carry.
My students gather around a small fish tank full of water in my classroom. Anticipation
builds as their boats sit lower in the water with the addition of each penny. As the waterline
creeps to the top of the hull, the moment of truth arrives. Students rejoice if they drop in the
last penny and the boats stays afloat or they despair as their boat sinks to the bottom of the
tank.
I am continually amazed how often everyday experiences can develop into valuable
classroom material. Driving to work in the morning at increasing velocity, decreasing
velocity, and rounding a curve kindles a lesson on acceleration. A walk along the beach
contemplating the tides can lead to a classroom discussion on the gravitational attraction
between masses, the moon and the oceans. During a hike in the woods, a demonstration of
the surface tension of water might be inspired by the sight of water striders skimming
across the surface of a still pool in a dried-up streambed. In my case, the silver screen was
the source of an interesting way to explain a physics concept. Observant teachers can find
inspiration for their classrooms if they think of the world as a stage where physical wonders
are showcased twenty-four hours a day.

http://www.titanic.com/modules/articles/print.php?id=44 15/01/2011
 Page 4 of 4

Many thanks go to By Peter J. Yonko for this contribution.

This article was originally published on:

Site: Titanic.com
URL: http://www.titanic.com/modules/articles/article.php?id=44

http://www.titanic.com/modules/articles/print.php?id=44 15/01/2011