EML 3701: Fluid Mechanics 1

Quiz 2: 20mins (Solution)

1. The standard atmosphere is equivalent to 760mm column of mercury ( =13,595 kg/m3). What
will be the equivalent column height of water ( =1000 kg/m3)? [10points]
a. 0.76m
b. 55.90m
c. 10.33m
d. 32m

Solution

wghw = mghm

hw = mhm/w
= (13,595)(0.76)/(1000) = 10.33m

2. Cooking at high altitudes takes shorter time than low altitudes. [10points]
a. True
b. False
c. Unknown

Solution

Boiling occurs at lower temperature due to the lower pressure at high altitudes. Therefore cooking
will take longer at higher altitudes.

3. Water from a reservoir is raised in a vertical tube of internal diameter D

= 30 cm under the influence of the pulling force F of a piston. Determine
the force needed to raise the water to a height of h = 1.5 m above the free
surface. [10points]
a. 3.19 kN
b. 1.04 kN
c. 0.84 kN
d. 1.96 kN

Solution
Noting that the pressure at the free surface is Patm and hydrostatic pressure in a fluid decreases
linearly with increasing height, the pressure at the piston face is
1 kN 1 kPa
P = Patm gh = 95 kPa (1000 kg/m 3 )(9.81 m/s 2 )(1.5 m) = 81.3 kPa
1000 kg m/s 2 1 kN/m 2

Piston face area is
A = D 2 / 4 = (0.3 m) 2 /4 = 0.07069 m 2
 A force balance on the piston yields
1 kN/m 2 1 kPa
F = ( Patm P ) A = (95 81.3 kPa )((0.07068 m 2 )
1 kN/m 2 = 1.04 kN
1 kPa

4. Consider an aboveground swimming pool 8-m-long, 8-m-wide, and 2-m-high that is filled with
water to the rim. Determine the hydrostatic force on a wall. [10points]
a. 9.8 kN
b. 209 kN
c. 157 kN
d. 311 kN

Solution
The average pressure on a surface is the pressure at the centroid (midpoint) of the surface, and
is determined to be
Pavg = PC = ghC = g (h / 2)
1N
= (1000 kg/m 3 )(9.81 m/s 2 )(2 / 2 m)
1 kg m/s 2

= 9810 N/m 2

Then the resultant hydrostatic force on each wall becomes

FR = Pavg A = (9810 N/m 2 )(8 m 2 m) = 156,960 N = 157 kN

5. Consider a 3-kg copper cube and a 3-kg copper ball submerged in a liquid. Will the buoyant
forces acting on these two bodies be the same? [10points]
a. Yes
b. No
c. Unknown

Solution

The magnitude of the buoyant force acting on a submerged body whose volume is V is
expressed as FB = f gV , which is independent of the shape of the body. Therefore, the
buoyant forces acting on the cube and sphere made of copper submerged in water are the
same since they have the same volume. (Note: The two objects have the same volume because
they have the same mass and density).

6. Consider a vertical cylindrical container partially filled with water. Now the cylinder is rotated
about its axis at a specified angular velocity, and rigid-body motion is established. Assuming
there is no dry spot, the highest pressure occurs at the: [10points]
a. Meniscus contact with side wall of container
b. Midpoint of bottom surface of container
 c. Bottom corners of container
d. Sidewall of container at midheight

Solution

When a vertical cylindrical container partially filled with water is rotated about its axis and rigid
body motion is established, the fluid level will drop at the center and rise towards the edges.
Noting that hydrostatic pressure is proportional to fluid depth, the pressure at the midpoint will
drop and the pressure at the edges of the bottom surface will rise due to the rotation. The
highest pressure therefore occurs at the bottom corners of the container.