The soda can is then lowered
into a container of water
so that the apparent weight of
the can is determined while it is
partially submerged at each of
the quarter divisions. Figure 4
shows the free-body diagram for
the forces exerted on a partially
submerged soda can. The buoyant force (FB) is determined
by taking the difference between the actual weight of the soda
can (Fg) and the apparent weight of the soda can measured
with a spring scale (Fsp): FB = Fg – Fsp.