Question

why does a cork float but a nail sinks in water

Answer 1

Hence, the nail sinks in water. The density of the iron nail is more than that of the water, this means that the upthrust of water on the iron nail isless than the weight of the nail, so itsinks. The cork floats while nail sinksthis happens because of the difference in their densities.

Answer 2

Whether an object floats on sink depends on two things, One is the density of the liquid and second is on the weight of the object.

Here you will find that cork floats, while nail will sink down in the water. This happens as cork is lighter than water while nail is heavy than water.