Teaching Demonstration

[mjp42@csufresno.edu]

Explain why pressure increaseds beneath a vertical column of water and how to calculate water pressure ate the base of the column. Include the effect of varying heights and column diameters.

thanks

mike

[chroot]

This sounds suspiciously like a homework assignment.

It also sounds suspiciously as though you haven't even attempted it -- the answer is simple and should be easy to find in any first-year physics textbook.

- Warren

[ShawnD]

The pressure is based on the weight that must be supported at the given depth. The volume of a the cylinder is just area * height

v =ah

Now you find the mass of the water which is just density * volume. I don't remember the symbol for density so I'll just use D.

m = vD

m = ahD

Now add gravity

F = ahDg

Now find the pressure on the bottom of the cylinder by dividing by the area

P = hDg

There you have it, the pressure at a given depth is height * density * gravity.

[chroot]

The normal symbol for mass density is \rho :smile:

- Warren