Assertion (A): A ship made of steel floats on water, though a solid piece of steel sinks.
Reason (R): The hollow shape of the ship pushes aside a large volume of water, and the upward push (buoyant force) of this water balances the weight of the ship.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct, and R is the correct explanation of A.
In an Assertion-Reason question, each statement is checked for truth first, and then R is tested as the cause of what A describes.
Assertion — correct. Huge steel ships float, while a small solid block of steel sinks.
Reason — correct. An object in water is pushed up by a force equal to the weight of the water it pushes aside; a hollow hull pushes aside far more water than a solid block of the same steel.
The ship floats because this upward push equals its weight, so R explains A.