What is the relationship between buoyant force and the weight of a body submerged in a fluid?

The buoyant force acts on a submerged body when it is in a fluid and is governed by Archimedes' principle, which states that the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body. When an object is floating, it is in equilibrium; the upward buoyant force is exactly balanced by the downward force of gravity acting on the object's weight. Therefore, the buoyant force equals the weight of the object when it is floating, ensuring that the object neither sinks nor rises. This balance is critical for stability, and it indicates that the forces acting upon the body are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.

This concept helps in understanding why options concerning the buoyant force being greater than or less than the weight are not universally applicable; they depend on the state of the object (floating, submerged, or sunk). The notion that weight could be zero when immersed in a fluid is also incorrect, as all objects have weight, and it does not disappear in the fluid. Similarly, the idea that weight cancels out the buoyant force is misleading, as it suggests dynamic interaction rather than equilibrium.