Additional SEE Practice — Q2. An object is floating just below the surface of water. If more and more salt is dissolved in the water, what happens to the object, and why?

Question

Accepted Answer

As salt is dissolved, the density of the water increases, so the upthrust exerted on the object also increases (upthrust is proportional to the density of the liquid). Since the object's weight stays the same but the upthrust on it keeps increasing, the object will gradually rise higher until it floats mostly above the surface, similar to how an egg floats better in salty water than in plain water.