One of the common procedures in fitness programs is to determine the fat-to-muscle ratio of the body. This is based on the principle that the muscle tissue is denser than the fat tissue, and, thus, the higher the average density of the body, the higher is the fraction of muscle tissue. The average density of the body can be determined by weighing the person in air and also while submerged in water in a tank. Treating all tissues and bones (other than fat) as muscle with an equivalent density of ρ_muscle, obtain a relation for the volume fraction of body fat x_fat.

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Submerged person Water tank FIGURE P11-36 Spring scale