PHYS 1305: Intro to Physics

Chapter 13
LIQUIDS

Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area that one
object exerts on another.

In equation form:

Pressure

force
area

Depends on area over which force is distributed.

Units: N/m2, lb/ft2, or Pa (Pascals)

1 N/m2 = 1 Pascal (Pa)

Pressure in a Liquid
As you swim deeper, you can feel the water
pressure acting against your eardrums.
The deeper you swim, the greater the pressure.

Pressure in a Liquid
Force per unit area that a liquid exerts on an
object.
Characteristics:
Depth dependent and
not volume dependent.
Acts equally in all directions.

Pressure in a Liquid

Independent of shape of container:

Whatever the shape of a container, pressure
at any particular depth is the same.
In equation form:
Liquid pressure weight density depth

Pressure in a Liquid
For example:
Water pressure provided

by a water tower is greater if

the tower is TALLER.
Only depth, not amount of

water, contributes to water

pressure.

Pressure in a Liquid
Effects of water pressure:
Acts perpendicular to surfaces
of a container and on objects
inside the liquid.
The liquid always exits at right
angles from a hole in the
surface of the container.
The greater the depth, the greater
the exiting speed.

Buoyancy in a Liquid
Buoyancy
The apparent loss of weight of a
submerged object.
For example, lifting a heavy object
under water is easier than lifting it on
the surface. This is because the water
exerts an additional SUPPORT force.
This extra UPWARD, support force is
called the BUOYANT force.

Buoyancy in a Liquid
Force vectors on the side cancel each other out.
But since the water exerts more pressure at the
bottom (because it's deeper), there is an UPWARD
net force.

Buoyancy in a Liquid
Understanding buoyancy needs the understanding of
the expression 'the volume of water displaced'.
The volume of the water displaced is EQUAL to
the volume of the stone [object in the water].

Buoyancy in a Liquid
Displacement rule:
A completely submerged object always displaces
a volume of liquid equal to its own volume.

Example:

Place an object in a container that

brimful of water, and the amount o

Application The Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheels two caisson are brimful of water and

the same weight, regardless of whether there are boats in
them. This makes rotation and lifting almost effortless.

Archimedes Principle
Archimedes' Principle:
An immersed object is buoyed up by a force
equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces.
For example:
If a partially immersed object displaces 1 kg of fluid
weighing about 10N, then the buoyant force is 10N
the weight of the FLUID, NOT the object.

Archimedes Principle
When a 3-kg block is submerged, the scale reading
reduces. The 'missing' weight is equal to the weight
of the 2-kg of water displaced, which equals the
buoyant force.

Archimedes Principle

Objects in a much densest fluids will displace a lesser

amount of volume due to the change in weight density of
the liquid. Thus, objects will appear to float more!

Example:

Ship will float higher in saltwater than in freshwater, or

Floating in the Dead sea!

What Makes an Object Float or Sink?

Whether an object floats or sinks depends upon the:

volume of the object.

volume of the fluid displaced.

For an object to float:

The buoyant force, or the weight of the liquid it

displaces, must be equal or more than weight of
the object itself.

Flotation
Principle of flotation:
A floating object displaces a weight of fluid
equal to its own weight.

What Makes an Object Float or Sink?

Three rules:
1. An object more dense than the fluid in which it is
immersed will sink.
2. An object less dense than the fluid in which it is
immersed will float.
3. An object having a density equal to the density
of the fluid in which it is immersed will neither
sink nor float.

What Makes an Object Float or Sink?

A crocodile increases its density in order to sink as it
approaches prey. Similarly, a submarine takes in
water in its ballast tanks in order to sink.

Pascals Principle
Discovered by Blaise Pascal, a scientist
and theologian in the 17th century.
Applies to all fluids, which include
gases and liquids.

Pascals principle:
A change in pressure at any point
in an enclosed fluid at rest is
transmitted undiminished to
all points in the fluid.

Pascals Principle
Example:
The pressure exerted by the 10-kg weight on the small
area is the SAME pressure experienced by the area 50
times as big. But being the same pressure, the force
would have to multiply 50 times as well!

F1
A1

F2
A2

50F1
50A1

Pascals Principle
Application for gases and liquids:
Seen in everyday hydraulic devices used in
construction and in auto lifts in service stations.

Surface Tension

The contractive tendency of the surface of liquids

is due to surface tension.

Surface Tension
Drops of any kind are spherical
because their surfaces tend to
contract and force each drop
into the shape having the least
surface area for a given volume
a sphere.
Bubbles are spherical for the
same reason surface tension.

Surface Tension
Surface tension is caused by molecular attractions
underneath the surface of the liquid.
Molecules at the surface are only pulled at the sides and
downward, NOT upward.
This sidewards, downwards pull
is
what causes surface tension.

Surface Tension
Factors affecting surface tension:
1. The type of liquid
Water has greater surface tension than oil.

2. What is mixed with the liquid

Soapy water has lower surface tension than water
without soap.

3. Temperature of the liquid

The molecules in a hot liquid have higher energy and are
not bound tightly as in a cooler liquid.

Capillarity
The rise of a liquid in a fine, hollow tube or in a
narrow space is called capillarity or capillary action.

Capillarity
The height of rise depends
upon the weight density of
the liquid and the diameter of
the tube.
The lighter the liquid, the
higher the capillary rise.
The narrower the tube, the
higher the capillary rise.

Capillarity
Three factors involved in capillarity:
Adhesion attraction between
UNLIKE substances, like water
molecules to the glass.
Cohesion attraction between
LIKE substances, like between
water molecules.
Surface tension similar to
cohesive forces.

Capillarity
Adhesion between the molecules
of the glass and water draws the
film of water into the tube.
Surface tension causes the film on
the surface to contract.
This raises the liquid from below
to rise into the tube.
When the force of the surface
tension balances out the weight of
the liquid, the liquid stops rising.