# Gauge Pressure problem (algebra based)

1. Jul 27, 2009

### guynameddanny

1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data
What is the gauge pressure at a depth of 100 m. in water?

2. Relevant equations
Pgauge = rho*g*h (or the pressure above atmospheric pressure)

3. The attempt at a solution

I missed a day of class (and on a summer class, that's a LOT of material). I am working problems that are assigned by the teacher over the internet. I'm sure these change of problems are things I can figure out, the problem I am having is understanding the equation for this problem. I can't seem to find where it talks about it in my book, I'm thinking because the teacher used either alternative symbols (because of limited keyboard characters), or he just likes to be different from the book.

I'm really just looking for help understanding the equation, what are the meanings of the different variables? I take it g*h is gravity*height (depth I presume), I'm not sure what "rho" would be though.

Edit: My theory is that "rho" is density of the liquid, not sure why he would use rho instead of something that makes sense like d.

To solve:

1000 kg/m^3 * 9.8 m/s^2 * 100 m = 980 kPa

Last edited: Jul 27, 2009
2. Jul 27, 2009

### PhanthomJay

'rho' (the greek letter $$\rho$$) is the commonly used symbol to represent density (mass per unit volume). The letter 'd' is often used for 'distance'; after a while, you run out of letters to use.....