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Conceptual questions

Atmospheric pressure exerts a large force (equal to the weight of the atmosphere above your body—about 10 tons) on the top of your body when you are lying on the beach sunbathing. Why are you able to get up?

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Why does atmospheric pressure decrease more rapidly than linearly with altitude?

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What are two reasons why mercury rather than water is used in barometers?

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[link] shows how sandbags placed around a leak outside a river levee can effectively stop the flow of water under the levee. Explain how the small amount of water inside the column formed by the sandbags is able to balance the much larger body of water behind the levee.

The figure shows a flooding river on the extreme right, with a levee set up on its left, and sandbags are stacked on the left of the levee. The height of the levee and that of the stacked sandbags is greater than the water level of the flooding river, so the water does not flow over their tops, but a leak under the levee allows some water to flow under it and reach the sandbags.
Because the river level is very high, it has started to leak under the levee. Sandbags are placed around the leak, and the water held by them rises until it is the same level as the river, at which point the water there stops rising.
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Why is it difficult to swim under water in the Great Salt Lake?

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Is there a net force on a dam due to atmospheric pressure? Explain your answer.

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Does atmospheric pressure add to the gas pressure in a rigid tank? In a toy balloon? When, in general, does atmospheric pressure not affect the total pressure in a fluid?

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You can break a strong wine bottle by pounding a cork into it with your fist, but the cork must press directly against the liquid filling the bottle—there can be no air between the cork and liquid. Explain why the bottle breaks, and why it will not if there is air between the cork and liquid.

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Problems&Exercises

What depth of mercury creates a pressure of 1.00 atm?

0.760 m

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The greatest ocean depths on the Earth are found in the Marianas Trench near the Philippines. Calculate the pressure due to the ocean at the bottom of this trench, given its depth is 11.0 km and assuming the density of seawater is constant all the way down.

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Verify that the SI unit of hρg size 12{hρg} {} is N/m 2 size 12{"N/m" rSup { size 8{2} } } {} .

h ρ g units = ( m ) kg/m 3 m/s 2 = kg m 2 / m 3 s 2 = kg m/s 2 1/m 2 = N/m 2
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Water towers store water above the level of consumers for times of heavy use, eliminating the need for high-speed pumps. How high above a user must the water level be to create a gauge pressure of 3 . 00 × 10 5 N/m 2 size 12{3 "." "00" times "10" rSup { size 8{5} } `"N/m" rSup { size 8{2} } } {} ?

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The aqueous humor in a person’s eye is exerting a force of 0.300 N on the 1 . 10 -cm 2 size 12{1 "." "10""-cm" rSup { size 8{2} } } {} area of the cornea. (a) What pressure is this in mm Hg? (b) Is this value within the normal range for pressures in the eye?

(a) 20.5 mm Hg

(b) The range of pressures in the eye is 12–24 mm Hg, so the result in part (a) is within that range

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How much force is exerted on one side of an 8.50 cm by 11.0 cm sheet of paper by the atmosphere? How can the paper withstand such a force?

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What pressure is exerted on the bottom of a 0.500-m-wide by 0.900-m-long gas tank that can hold 50.0 kg of gasoline by the weight of the gasoline in it when it is full?

1 . 09 × 10 3 N/m 2 size 12{1 "." "09" times "10" rSup { size 8{3} } `"N/m" rSup { size 8{2} } } {}

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Calculate the average pressure exerted on the palm of a shot-putter’s hand by the shot if the area of contact is 50 . 0 cm 2 size 12{"50" "." 0`"cm" rSup { size 8{2} } } {} and he exerts a force of 800 N on it. Express the pressure in N/m 2 and compare it with the 1 . 00 × 10 6 Pa pressures sometimes encountered in the skeletal system.

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The left side of the heart creates a pressure of 120 mm Hg by exerting a force directly on the blood over an effective area of 15 . 0 cm 2 . size 12{"15" "." 0`"cm" rSup { size 8{2} } } {} What force does it exert to accomplish this?

24.0 N

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Show that the total force on a rectangular dam due to the water behind it increases with the square of the water depth. In particular, show that this force is given by F = ρ gh 2 L / 2 size 12{F=ρ ital "gh" rSup { size 8{2} } L/2} {} , where ρ size 12{ρ} {} is the density of water, h size 12{h} {} is its depth at the dam, and L size 12{L} {} is the length of the dam. You may assume the face of the dam is vertical. (Hint: Calculate the average pressure exerted and multiply this by the area in contact with the water. (See [link] .)

A two-dimensional view of a dam with dimensions L and h is shown. Force F at h is shown by a horizontal arrow. The force F exerted by water on the dam is F equals average pressure p bar into area A and pressure in turn is average height h bar into density rho into acceleration due to gravity g.
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Practice Key Terms 1

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Source:  OpenStax, College physics. OpenStax CNX. Jul 27, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11406/1.9
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