What is the weight of a bucketful of water?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the weight of a bucket filled with water, specifically focusing on a hemispherical bucket with a given diameter and mass. The context suggests a practical application related to firefighting using helicopters.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss whether to include the weight of the bucket in the calculation of the total weight of the water. There is uncertainty about the interpretation of "bucketful" and whether it refers solely to the water or includes the bucket itself.

Discussion Status

The discussion is exploring different interpretations of the problem statement. Some participants suggest that the weight of the bucket should be included, while others question the wording of the problem. No consensus has been reached, but various perspectives are being considered.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the ambiguity in the phrasing of the problem regarding whether "bucketful" refers to just the water or the water plus the bucket. This has led to differing opinions on how to approach the calculation.

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Homework Statement



A helicopter is used to fill buckets with water to drop on fires. The bucket is a hemisphere with a diameter of 2 meters and a mass of 25 kg. The helicopter lowers the bucket into a lake or reservoir to fill it

a) What is the weight of a bucketful of water? [/B]

Homework Equations



[/B]

The Attempt at a Solution



Do I actually need to find how much water weighs?
Or can i just find the weight of the bucked using W=25kg(9.8)

Thanks.
 
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siimplyabi said:
a) What is the weight of a bucketful of water?

Do I actually need to find how much water weighs?
It says a bucketful of water, so of course you need the weight of the water that would fill the bucket.
What is less clear is whether you should add the weight of the bucket. I expect it intends that you should, but in that case it is worded wrongly. It should ask for the weight of a "bucket, full of water". A bucketful is a measure of volume (for a given bucket), so strictly speaking a bucketful of water just refers to the water in the bucket, not the water plus the bucket.
 
It asks for the weight of a bucketful of water so I would include the bucket.
 
Thank You all :)
 
CWatters said:
It asks for the weight of a bucketful of water so I would include the bucket.
I can eat a spoonful of sugar, but not a spoon full of sugar.
 
haruspex said:
I can eat a spoonful of sugar, but not a spoon full of sugar.
Not unless you want to take a trip to the emergency room.
 

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