BMCG 2372 Tutorial 3 : Pressure and Fluid Static

1. A vacuum gage connected to a chamber reads 24 kPa

at a location where the atmospheric pressure is 92 kPa.
Determine the absolute pressure in the chamber.
(Answer: 68 kPa )

2. The water in a tank is pressurized by air, and the

pressure is measured by a multifluid manometer.
Determine the gage pressure of air in the tank if h1
= 0.2 m, h2 = 0.3 m, and h3 = 0.46 m. Take the
densities of water, oil, and mercury to be 1000
kg/m3, 850 kg/m3, and 13,600 kg/m3, respectively.
(Answer: 56.9 kPa )

3. Under what conditions is the ideal-gas assumption

suitable for real gases? The barometer of a mountain hiker
reads 930 mbars at the beginning of a hiking trip and 780
mbars at the end. Neglecting the effect of altitude on local
gravitational acceleration, determine the vertical distance
climbed. Assume an average air density of 1.20 kg/m3.
(Answer: 1274 m)

4. Determine the pressure exerted on a diver at 30 m below the free surface of the sea.
Assume a barometric pressure of 101 kPa and a specific gravity of 1.03 for seawater.
(Answer: 404.0 kPa)

5. A gas tank pressure is measured using a gage

and a manometer. If the pressure gage is 80 kPa,
determine the distance between the two fluid
levels of the manometer if the fluid is (a)
mercury ( = 13,600 kg/m3) or (b) water ( =
1000 kg/m3). (Answers: 0.6 m, 8.16 m)

6. A manometer containing oil ( = 850 kg/m3) is attached to a tank filled with air. If the
oil-level difference between the two columns is 45 cm and the atmospheric pressure is
98 kPa, determine the absolute pressure of the air in the tank. (Answer: 101.75 kPa)

7. Consider a 1.8-m-tall man standing vertically in water and completely submerged in a

pool. Determine the difference between the pressures acting at the head and at the toes
of this man, in kPa. (Answer: 17.7 kPa)
BMCG 2372 Tutorial 3 : Pressure and Fluid Static

8. Freshwater and seawater flowing in parallel horizontal pipelines are connected to each
other by a double U-tube manometer. Determine the pressure difference between the
two pipelines. Take the density of seawater at that location to be  = 1035 kg/m3.
(Answer: 3.39 kPa)

9. The pressure difference between an oil pipe and water pipe is measured by a double-
fluid manometer. For the given fluid heights and specific gravities, calculate the
pressure difference . (Answer: 27.7 kPa)

10. What is the difference between gage pressure and absolute pressure?

11. Explain why some people experience nose bleeding and some others experience
shortness of breath at high elevations.

12. Someone claims that the absolute pressure in a liquid of constant density doubles when
the depth is doubled. Do you agree? Explain.
BMCG 2372 Tutorial 3 : Pressure and Fluid Static

13. Consider a heavy car submerged in water in a lake with a flat bottom. The driver’s side
door of the car is 1.1 m high and 0.9 m wide, and the top edge of the door is 8 m below
the water surface. Determine the net force acting on the door (normal to its surface) and
the location of the pressure(Answers: 83 kN, 8.56 m)

14. Consider a 4-m-long, 4-m-wide, and 1.5-m-high aboveground swimming pool that is
filled with water to the rim. (a) Determine the hydrostatic force on each wall and the
distance of the line of action of this force from the ground. (b) If the height of the walls
of the pool is doubled and the pool is filled, will the hydrostatic force on each wall
double or quadruple? Why? (Answer: (a) 44.1 kN)

15. A 4-m-high, 5-m-wide rectangular plate blocks

the end of a 4-m-deep freshwater channel. The
plate is hinged about a horizontal axis along its
upper edge through a point A and is restrained
from opening by a fixed ridge at point B.
Determine the force exerted on the plate by the
ridge. (Answer: 288 kN)

16. The water side of the wall of a 100-m-long dam

is a quarter circle with a radius of 10 m.
Determine the hydrostatic force on the dam and
its line of action when the dam is filled to the
rim. (Answer: 9.13 x 107 N, 57.5o)