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Copy of Archimedes and the King’s Golden Crown (3/13/2025)

Last updated 2 months ago
12 questions
Archimedes and the King’s Golden Crown

A long time ago in ancient Greece, King Hiero II of Syracuse had a problem.
He had given a goldsmith a lump of pure gold to make a beautiful crown, but when he received it, he wasn’t sure if it was really made of solid gold. He suspected the goldsmith had secretly mixed in some cheaper silver and kept some of the gold for himself. But how could he prove it without melting the crown?




The king called upon Archimedes, a brilliant scientist and mathematician, to solve the mystery. Archimedes thought hard but couldn’t figure out how to test the crown without damaging it.
Then, one day, while stepping into his bath, he noticed something curious—the water level rose as he got in. Suddenly, an idea struck him! The volume of water that overflowed must be equal to the volume of his body that had been submerged. This meant he could measure the volume of the king’s crown just by seeing how much water it displaced!



Excited by his discovery, Archimedes leapt out of the bath and ran through the streets shouting, "Eureka! Eureka!" (which means “I have found it!” in Greek).
He tested the crown by placing it in water and comparing its displacement to a lump of pure gold of the same weight. To the king’s horror, the crown displaced more water than the gold, meaning it had a larger volume but the same weight—proving it was mixed with a less dense metal, like silver!
The goldsmith had been caught! Thanks to Archimedes’ clever thinking, the king knew he had been cheated.
This story led to Archimedes' Principle, which explains how objects float and sink based on the weight of the fluid they displace. It’s the same reason why a big cruise ship floats, even though it’s made of heavy metal!
1

Why did King Hiero II suspect the goldsmith had cheated him?

1

What problem did Archimedes need to solve?

1

What made Archimedes realize how to solve the problem?

1

What does the word "Eureka!" mean?

1

How did Archimedes test the crown?

1

What did Archimedes' test reveal about the crown?

1

Why did the crown displace more water than pure gold of the same weight?

1

What scientific principle did Archimedes discover from this experiment?

1

How is Archimedes’ discovery used in modern science?

1

Why do large ships made of metal float on water, even though metal is heavy?

10
King Hiero II suspected that his new _______ was not made of pure gold. He asked _______ a famous Greek scientist, to find out if the goldsmith had cheated him. Archimedes realized the solution while taking a _______ when he noticed that the water level _______ as he stepped in. This helped him understand that the volume of an object can be measured by the volume of _______ it displaces.
To test the crown, Archimedes compared its _______ in water with that of pure gold of the same _______ . He discovered that the crown displaced _______ water than the gold, proving that it was mixed with a less _______ metal, like silver. This discovery is now known as _______ ’s Principle, which explains how objects float and sink based on the weight of the fluid they displace.
3

Archimedes discovered that the king’s crown displaced more water than a lump of pure gold of the same weight.
Explain why this proved that the crown was not made of pure gold. Use the idea of density in your answer.