the problem of weight (as read on a balance) reflecting forces exerted by an object that naturally floats on water, or is forced to be partially or fully immersed in water, has puzzled students and even physics teachers alike, the implication being that they are not competent in using free body diagrams. The main problem seems to be their inability to see how all the force can sult in the readings on the balance. published literture in physics education has covered the topics of buoyant force [1-6] and the readings on the balance [7-10] quite extensively. However, we thought that there are points that need clarification. e.g. whether we need to evoke a rise in the water level to explain the weight increase[2]. We thus designed and implemented a series of activities based on the buoyant force and the readings on the balance to help our student understand the free body diagram vis Newton's third law . These students had had previous exposure to Newton's law and hydrostatics.