Question

why does a piece of iron sink while a ship of iron floats in water

Answer 1

So the average density of the ship as a whole is less than the density of water. Therefore immersed portion of theship displaces water equal to its weight. So the ship floats whereas a sheet of iron is compact and there are no air spaces inside it. ... Hence the ship does notsink

Answer 2

The piece of iron sinks as due to its very high density than water.
Air has very low density in comparison with water.
And the ships has a lot of air presence in it, the average density of the ships become less density than water, and since of average density of ship than that of water. It floats on water. And a heavy ship also displace a large weight of water (which provides a great buoyant force to keep it afloat).


Hope it helps.