text: Ice cubes do not float on all liquids. For example, if you place your \nice cube in a cup of light oil (thin cooking oil. Don't use heavy greasy \noils), it will sink. It depends upon density of oils, density of oil is less than water in other words oil is less denser than water thats why it floats on water. If you put ice in more denser oil like heavy greace oil, ice cubes will float on this greace oil.\n\nWhy do things float on water? This has to do with something known as \nbouyancy. It's because of bouyancy that ships can float on water, \nas can corks and other things. It's also the reason that Archimedes ran \nout of his bath naked screaming 'Eureka!' all those years ago. \n\nThink about a tub of water or a swimming pool. If you push your hand in, \nthe deeper you go, the harder the water pushes on your hand, because the \ndeeper you go, the more water there is above you that's weighing down on \nyou. Same with air. If you climb high into the mountains, there is less \nair over your head, so it doesn't push on you quite as hard any more. This \nis the reason your ears pop when you go very high very fast. The \npressure of air in your ears is different from that of the air \noutside, and it is released in a 'pop'.\n\nIce cubes float on water because it is less dense than water. \nDensity measures how much mass there is per volume. For example, if you \nhave a metal cube and a plastic cube of the same volume (same length, \nwidth, and height -- same size), the metal cube is denser than the plastic \ncube. Most people would say 'the metal cube is heavier', and that's \nbecause it's more dense, so there's more matter per unit of volume than \nthe plastic cube.\n\nWhen an object, like an ice cube, is placed in water, the water pushes \nagainst the object, this is called 'exerting a pressure on the object'. \nhis pressure can come from below as well as from above. If you're not \nusing water, and use honey or some other liquid that is denser than water, \nthe pressure will be higher. If you use oil or some liquid that is less \ndense than water, the pressure will be less. The object itself has a \nweight, and is being pulled downwards by gravity. The more mass the object \nhas, the more strongly it is pulled downwards by gravity. If the downward \npull of gravity is greater than the upwards push of the liquid against the \nobject, then the object will sink. If the gravitational pull is less than \nthe upwards push of the liquid, then the object will float. If the two \nforces are the same, then the object will just hang there, neither \nfloating nor sinking.\n\nTbe ice cube floats not only because of its density, but because of its \nshape too. Imagine a huge ship. It's made of lots of heavy metal and \nsteel, but it still can float. This is because of its shape. It is made to \nspread out wide over the water, so that there is more water that can push \nup from below to balance out the weight of the ship. If the ship were just \na solid cube of metal, then it will sink, because the force of the water \npushing from below, the bouyant force, is not enough to balance out the \nweight of the ship, and it sinks.\n\nI hope this explanation helps, and if you have any more queries, feel free \nto ask us Have a great time!