An ice cube is floating in a cup of water, full to the brim. As the melts, what happens? Does the cup overflow, or does the water level drop, or does it remain the same? (You need to know Archimedes ' Principle: A floating object displaces a volume of water whose weight equals the weight of the object.)
Any help is appreciated!!!

Question

anonymous · Answer

the water level is dropped since the water takes up more volume when it is frozen than when it is unfrozen, so while it displaces the same ammount of weight, it does it with less space

anonymous · Answer

Thanks!Do you know if there is a way to prove it mathematically?

anonymous · Answer

there is, but you need to know the mass and volume of water and the mass and volume of ice. not quite sure what they are.

anonymous · Answer

Oh ok. but your sure it drops though?

anonymous · Answer

yep, think about what would happen if you froze the water, it would bulge at the top right? so if it were melting it would go down

anonymous · Answer

Sorry for the last question but the water level drops even if water(not frozen) is filled to the brim??

anonymous · Answer

yes because water forms a lattice arrangement when solid and since its like bended then it takes up more space than when it is free to move.