Does oil sink

Answer 1

A material's ability to float or sink depends on its density and the density of the liquid that it is in. Anything that has a greater density will sink in a liquid with a lower density. In order for oil to sink in water, oil has to have more density than water.

Oil is typically less dense than water and so it will float above the water. Since density is mass divided by the volume, theoretically, we can increase density by squishing all of the oil together to decrease the volume (but this is not feasible, maybe next to impossible). Another way to do it is to heat both of the oil and the water. When heated, most materials decreases their density but not at the same rate because of the difference in material properties. Certain oils has a low coefficient of expansion. And so, when heat is added to the water and the oil, the oil density will remain close to its original value while the water density decreases. Once the water density is lower than that of oil density, the oil will sink.

In short, oil could sink in water, but as a general rule, oil will float on water.

Answer 2

No, oil is less dense than water, making oil float atop water.


Answer:
Most oils that you commonly see float. They are 10-20% less dense than water. However heavy bunker oils and industrial fuel oils can have a density greater than water and will sink. This is demonstrable - toss a chunk of asphalt paving into water, it sinks. This same material at very high temperatures is essentially heavy fuel oil

Answer 3

There are two parts to this answer. These are density (or specific gravity) and miscibility.

• While most oil that you see on a day to day basis don't sink (in water) because it has a lower density than water (10-20% less dense than water), it will sink in other substances if it is denser that them. However heavy bunker oils and industrial fuel oils can have a density greater than water and will sink. This is demonstrable - toss a chunk of asphalt paving into water, it sinks. This same material at very high temperatures is essentially heavy fuel oil.
• The second part of the answer, miscibility, related to the fact that oil does not mix with water. it remains as a separate material. Other materials such as alcohol have essentially the same density as oil but disappear into the ater when they are in contact. Oil has a different type of (non-polar) molecule

Answer 4

You don't, because that's not how things work.

Most oils are less dense than water and will float on top of the water.

Dissolving a solid in a liquid increases the density of the liquid, so it sounds like dissolving salt in the oil might increase its density enough for the oil to sink in water ...

But there's a problem with that: salts tend to be much more soluble in water than in oil, so you're just making the water EVEN DENSER, so the oil is going to stay on top. Even if you COULD dissolve salt in oil (in most cases, you can't), then as soon as the water and oil touch each other the salt will move from the non-polar oil to the polar water. The ratio of the amount of a substance that dissolves in one substance relative to another is called its "Partition coefficient",and the oil/water partition coefficients for salts are usually much, much less than one.

Answer 5

You can't. Oil is less dense than water and will float on water.

Answer 6

Buoyancy, just like a boat, oil is less dense than water, so it FLOATS on the top of the water, which appears to sink beneath the oil.

Answer 7

oil can sink in water by cooking it