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Ice floats because it is less dense than water, demonstrating the property of buoyancy.

Objects are said to be buoyant when they are able to displace their own weight in water before sinking. As the object settles in the water, an equal force pushes up against the bottom of the object, causing it to float, rather than sink. When the surface area and density of a substance are right, that substance floats rather than sinking to the bottom.