Pressure applied to a completely enclosed fluid

[KingTutATL]

Which one of the following statements concerning a completely enclosed fluid is true?

a)Any change in the applied pressure of the fluid produces a change in pressure that depends on direction.
b)The pressure at all points within the fliod is independent of any pressure applied to it.
c)Any change in applied pressure produces an equal change in pressure at all points.
d)An increase in pressure in one part of the fluid results in an equal decrease in pressure
e)The pressure in the fluid is the same at all points within the fluid

I was thinking c). Just wanted to check.

 

[Office_Shredder]

They look weirdly worded (to say the least), but I think it's supposed to be e

 

[KingTutATL]

Tell me about it. My physics professor is a nightmare.

 

[KingTutATL]

Isn't the pressure within a fluid going to be different at two different locations within the fluid?

 

[Office_Shredder]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_law gives a nice little description.

It depends on the assumption of the container... is it considered small (i.e. all the fluid is at the same height)? If so, it would be choice 'e', otherwise it would be choice 'c'.

I suppose c is more general, so that would be the correct answer

 

[civil_dude]

Remember, both liquids and 'gases' are fluids. If it is a gas, there will be extremely minor differences in pressure across the cross section. If liquid, then there will be major differences in pressure from top to bottom.

 

[dingsbunnyranch]

I agree with you, kingtutATL. if you had a bowl of water in a vacuum and an identical bowl of water under atmospheric pressure, the pressure at corresponding points in the the two bowls would have a difference of 1 atm.