Let's say we have a tank filled with water only half way up. I want to calculate the force being applied by the liquid on one of the walls, that's F = P.A. For the area (A), should I consider the area of the entire wall (H.L), or only the area of the wall that's in contact with the liquid...
I used P1A1 = P2A2 and my professor said that P1=P2 is correct, but some sources on the internet say that P1A1=P2A2 is correct, just like I did, but unfortunately no one explains why one or the other is the correct answer.
For P1A1 = P2A2 you get ρI / ρII = 1/4 and for P1=P2 you get ρI / ρII = 1/2.