the density of liquid mercury is 13.53 g/cm3.The density of a solid copper is 8.96 g cm3. would you expect a piece of copper to sink or float when placed in a container of liquid mercury?
I would expect the less dense Cu metal to float on the more dense liquid Hg, at least until the Cu was dissolved. (Many metals (including Cu) will form an amalgam with Hg.)
it will be expected to sink due to the high density
Id expect the copper to float on the liquid mercury
To determine whether a piece of copper would sink or float in liquid mercury, we need to compare their densities. Density is determined by dividing the mass of an object by its volume.
In this case, the density of liquid mercury is given as 13.53 g/cm^3, and the density of solid copper is given as 8.96 g/cm^3.
Since the density of liquid mercury is greater than the density of solid copper, we can conclude that when placed in a container of liquid mercury, a piece of copper would sink. This is because objects with a higher density than the liquid they are placed in will sink, while objects with a lower density will float.
So, in this scenario, the copper would sink in the liquid mercury.