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Water depth after ice melts

Short answer

The melted water occupies exactly the displaced volume (0.3 m³), so the total liquid volume below the original surface does not change. The water depth remains 4 m.

0.5 m³ of ice floats in a cylindrical tank maintaining 4 m depth as shown in figure below. What will be the depth of water if ice completely melt in the tank? [Figure: cylindrical tank of water 4 m deep; ice block of total volume 0.5 m³ floating, with 0.2 m³ above the water level and 0.3 m³ below]

Answer: the depth remains 4 m; the water level does not change.

Reasoning (Archimedes' principle). Take water density ρ\rho. The floating ice displaces a volume Vd=0.3 m3V_d=0.3\ \text{m}^3 (the part below the surface). By equilibrium, the weight of the ice equals the weight of water displaced:

Wice=ρgVd=ρg(0.3)W_{ice}=\rho g V_d=\rho g(0.3)

So the ice has a mass of 0.3ρ0.3\rho. When it melts, it turns into water of the same mass, with volume

Vmelt=Wiceρg=0.3 m3V_{melt}=\frac{W_{ice}}{\rho g}=0.3\ \text{m}^3

The melted water occupies exactly the 0.3 m³ that the submerged part of the ice used to displace, so the total volume of liquid below the original surface is unchanged. The 0.2 m³ of ice above the surface was already part of the ice's weight and is included in the 0.3 m³ of melt water.

hnew=4 mh_{new}=4\ \text{m}

This holds because the ice floats in water of the same kind (pure water). If fresh-water ice melted in denser sea water, the level would rise slightly.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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