Volume Integral of the Pressure Gradient and Archimedes' Principle

The theorems of vector analysis (divergence theorem, etc.) are typically first applied in the undergraduate physics curriculum in the context of the electromagnetic field and the differential forms of Maxwell’s equations. However, these tools are analyzed in depth several courses later in the junior-senior level. I discuss here a “bridge” problem, using the language of vector calculus in a mechanics setting to understand Archimedes’ principle as a consequence of hydrostatic equilibrium and the superposition of the external forces. It is my hope that this treatment will help students better integrate and understand understand these and similar vector analysis results in contexts beyond electromagnetism.