Answers.Body: <p>Most Lego pieces sink. Some of them will float briefly if they have air trapped inside. Almost any construction of Lego elements will sink as there are gaps between pieces.</p>
  
  <p>There are some boat pieces that are designed to float, such as the <a href="https://brickset.com/sets/60129-1/Police-Patrol-Boat" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Police Patrol Boat set from 2016</a>. A Brickset list shows some <a href="https://brickset.com/sets/list-5930" rel="nofollow noreferrer">other boats that float</a>.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-07-05T14:00:32.617Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-07-06T14:15:57.063Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2017-07-06T14:15:57.063Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
Answers.Body: <p>Some fairly straightforward physics is your friend here:</p>
  
  <p>To determine if something will sink or float in a given medium, you need to know its density. If the density of the object is less than the density of the medium it will float.</p>
  
  <p>Standard pool water would have a density around 1g/cm<sup>3</sup>, salt water is higher (depends on the amount of salt in the water).</p>
  
  <p>To calculate the density of the LEGO elements, you need to weigh it, and divide that by its volume.</p>
  
  <p>The slight complication is as Mr Shiny and New states: Bricks can trap some air inside them which reduce their density while the air remains trapped in the brick. Items like the motorbike are almost solid ABS, and so are much more dense than a minifig with a hollow body, arms and legs.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-04-17T13:19:11.160Z
Answers.Text: This method quickly becomes complicated if one wishes to include the weight and volume of the air "inside" a boat piece, which clearly does float, but ignoring this amount from the calculation would probably indicate otherwise.
Answers.UserDisplayName: zovits
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-04-17T13:39:32.950Z
Answers.Text: Indeed - that's where displacement comes in (and how steel ships float). But it's the best way to tell whether an object will float or sink before you drop it into a pool. Even a boat element will sink if you flood it with water.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-04-17T13:01:19.067Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-04-17T13:01:19.067Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Body: <p>My kids enjoy playing with their LEGOs in the pool, and we cannot always predict which ones will float and which one will sink.</p>
  
  <p>It appears to me that most pieces do float in the pool, but some, for instance a motorbike, doesn't.</p>
  
  <p>How can I distinguish, if at all possible, which ones will float, before actually putting them in the pool?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-07-05T19:41:11.883Z
Comments.Text: Related: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/78/do-lego-bricks-float
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ambo100
Tags: <piece-information><water>
Title: How can I distinguish floating versus sinking LEGO pieces?
UserDisplayName: Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai
ThreadText: # How can I distinguish floating versus sinking LEGO pieces?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-05)
  
  My kids enjoy playing with their LEGOs in the pool, and we cannot always predict which ones will float and which one will sink.
  
  It appears to me that most pieces do float in the pool, but some, for instance a motorbike, doesn't.
  
  How can I distinguish, if at all possible, which ones will float, before actually putting them in the pool?
  
  **Tags:** piece-information, water
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Related: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/78/do-lego-bricks-float  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-05. Score: 7
  
  Most Lego pieces sink. Some of them will float briefly if they have air trapped inside. Almost any construction of Lego elements will sink as there are gaps between pieces.
  
  There are some boat pieces that are designed to float, such as the [Police Patrol Boat set from 2016](https://brickset.com/sets/60129-1/Police-Patrol-Boat). A Brickset list shows some [other boats that float](https://brickset.com/sets/list-5930).
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2019-04-17. Score: 2
  
  Some fairly straightforward physics is your friend here:
  
  To determine if something will sink or float in a given medium, you need to know its density. If the density of the object is less than the density of the medium it will float.
  
  Standard pool water would have a density around 1g/cm3, salt water is higher (depends on the amount of salt in the water).
  
  To calculate the density of the LEGO elements, you need to weigh it, and divide that by its volume.
  
  The slight complication is as Mr Shiny and New states: Bricks can trap some air inside them which reduce their density while the air remains trapped in the brick. Items like the motorbike are almost solid ABS, and so are much more dense than a minifig with a hollow body, arms and legs.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_4**: This method quickly becomes complicated if one wishes to include the weight and volume of the air "inside" a boat piece, which clearly does float, but ignoring this amount from the calculation would probably indicate otherwise.  
  > **username_3**: Indeed - that's where displacement comes in (and how steel ships float). But it's the best way to tell whether an object will float or sink before you drop it into a pool. Even a boat element will sink if you flood it with water.  
  
  ---
  
  