1.3 Variation of pressure with depth in a fluid  (Page 3/4)

Atmospheric pressure exerts a large force (equal to the weight of the atmosphere above your body—about 10 tons) on the top of your body when you are lying on the beach sunbathing. Why are you able to get up?

Why does atmospheric pressure decrease more rapidly than linearly with altitude?

What are two reasons why mercury rather than water is used in barometers?

[link] shows how sandbags placed around a leak outside a river levee can effectively stop the flow of water under the levee. Explain how the small amount of water inside the column formed by the sandbags is able to balance the much larger body of water behind the levee.

Why is it difficult to swim under water in the Great Salt Lake?

Is there a net force on a dam due to atmospheric pressure? Explain your answer.

Does atmospheric pressure add to the gas pressure in a rigid tank? In a toy balloon? When, in general, does atmospheric pressure not affect the total pressure in a fluid?

You can break a strong wine bottle by pounding a cork into it with your fist, but the cork must press directly against the liquid filling the bottle—there can be no air between the cork and liquid. Explain why the bottle breaks, and why it will not if there is air between the cork and liquid.

What depth of mercury creates a pressure of 1.00 atm?

The greatest ocean depths on the Earth are found in the Marianas Trench near the Philippines. Calculate the pressure due to the ocean at the bottom of this trench, given its depth is 11.0 km and assuming the density of seawater is constant all the way down.

Verify that the SI unit of $\mathrm{h\rho g}$ is ${\text{N/m}}^2$ .

Water towers store water above the level of consumers for times of heavy use, eliminating the need for high-speed pumps. How high above a user must the water level be to create a gauge pressure of $3\text{.}\text{00}\times {\text{10}}^5{\text{N/m}}^2$ ?

The aqueous humor in a person’s eye is exerting a force of 0.300 N on the $1\text{.}\text{10}{\text{-cm}}^2$ area of the cornea. (a) What pressure is this in mm Hg? (b) Is this value within the normal range for pressures in the eye?

How much force is exerted on one side of an 8.50 cm by 11.0 cm sheet of paper by the atmosphere? How can the paper withstand such a force?

What pressure is exerted on the bottom of a 0.500-m-wide by 0.900-m-long gas tank that can hold 50.0 kg of gasoline by the weight of the gasoline in it when it is full?

Calculate the average pressure exerted on the palm of a shot-putter’s hand by the shot if the area of contact is $\text{50}\text{.}0{\text{cm}}^2$ and he exerts a force of 800 N on it. Express the pressure in ${\text{N/m}}^2$ and compare it with the $1\text{.}\text{00}\times {\text{10}}^6\text{Pa}$ pressures sometimes encountered in the skeletal system.

The left side of the heart creates a pressure of 120 mm Hg by exerting a force directly on the blood over an effective area of $\text{15}\text{.}0{\text{cm}}^2.$ What force does it exert to accomplish this?

Show that the total force on a rectangular dam due to the water behind it increases with the square of the water depth. In particular, show that this force is given by $F=\rho {\mathrm{gh}}^{2}L/2$ , where $\rho$ is the density of water, $h$ is its depth at the dam, and $L$ is the length of the dam. You may assume the face of the dam is vertical. (Hint: Calculate the average pressure exerted and multiply this by the area in contact with the water. (See [link] .)