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How can Archimedes’ principle be used to find the volume of an irregularly shaped object?

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Portrait of Archimedes by Giuseppe Nogari shows an elderly man with white hair and beard, holding a compass, gazing downward, set against a dark background. — Archimedes Archimedes, oil on canvas by Giuseppe Nogari, 18th century; in the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, Moscow. Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician and inventor.

Archimedes’ principle provides a straightforward method for determining the volume of an irregularly shaped object. Because the principle states that an object submerged in a fluid displaces a volume of that fluid equal to its own volume, you can simply submerge the object in a container of fluid and measure the amount of fluid displaced.1

This technique is highly effective for objects that lack a regular geometric shape, as the volume of the displaced fluid directly corresponds to the volume of the submerged object. Beyond volume measurement, this principle is also fundamental to calculating an object's density or specific gravity by comparing the object's weight in air to its weight when submerged in a fluid, where it experiences an upward buoyant force.1