Two solid objects, A and B, have identical volumes but different masses. Both are fully submerged and released from rest in the same large tank of liquid. Object A floats upward and eventually comes to rest with part of it above the surface, whereas object B sinks to the bottom.
(a) Describe and compare the magnitudes of the buoyant forces acting on objects A and B while they are fully submerged.
(b) Using Newton’s second law, explain why the subsequent motions of the two objects differ despite the forces in part (a) being equal in magnitude.
(c) Suppose object A is replaced with another object C that has the same mass as object B but the same volume as object A. Predict qualitatively whether object C will rise, sink, or remain neutrally buoyant when released, and justify your prediction.