Blood Speed in an Arteriole

[eagles12]

Homework Statement

A typical Arteriole has a diameter of .030 mm and carries blood at the rate of 5.5* 10^-6 cm^3/s. What is the speed of the blood in an arteriole?

Homework Equations

s=P/vρ

The Attempt at a Solution

Blood is made of mostly water, so I used the same ρ as water (ρ=1000), and multiplied by the velocity given. I have the diameter, but I am not sure what do do with it or how to find the pressure.

 

[LawrenceC]

Volumetric flow is given by:

Q=A*V and has the units of volume per unit time. A is area, V is velocity

So, determine the velocity from the above equation.

 

[eagles12]

I already have velocity, I am looking for speed

 

[LawrenceC]

Speed is the magnitude of velocity. Velocity is a vector entity. It has both magnitude and direction. Speed is only the magnitude of velocity.

 

[asteriatic]

Can you help me?

To find the speed of the blood in an arteriole, we can use the equation s = P/vρ, where s is the speed, P is the pressure, v is the velocity, and ρ is the density. We have been given the diameter of the arteriole, which is .030 mm, but we do not have enough information to calculate the pressure. We would need to know the flow rate and the resistance of the arteriole in order to calculate the pressure. Additionally, we need to convert the given velocity from cm^3/s to m^3/s, as the density of blood is typically given in kg/m^3. Once we have all the necessary information, we can use the equation to calculate the speed of the blood in the arteriole.