STI Academic Center

P. Sanchez Street corner Pat Antonio

Street Sta. Mesa Manila, 1035 Metro Manila

FLUIDS
 Anyone who has tried to push a beach ball under the water has felt how the
water pushes back with a strong upward force.
 This upward force is called the buoyant force, and all fluids apply such a force
to objects that are immersed in them.
 The buoyant force exists because fluid pressure is larger at greater depths.
 The shape of the object is not important. No matter what its shape, the buoyant
force pushes it upward in accord with Archimedes’ principle.
 It was an impressive accomplishment that the Greek scientist Archimedes (ca.
287-212 BC) discovered the essence of this principle so long ago.

Archimedes’ Principle
Any fluid applies a buoyant force to an object that is partially or completely immersed
in it; the magnitude of the buoyant force equals the weight of the fluid that the object
displaces:
=

Magnitude of buoyant force = Weight of the displaced fluid

 The effect that the buoyancy force has depends on its strength compared with
the strengths of the other forces that are acting.

For example, if the buoyancy force is strong enough to balance the force of gravity, an
object will float in fluid.
 If the buoyant force were not large enough to balance the weight, even with the
block completely submerged, the block would sink. Even if an object sinks,
there are still a buoyant force acting on it; it’s just that the buoyant force is not
large enough to balance the weight.

Sample Problem 1.

A solid, square pinewood raft measures 4.0m on a side and is 0.30m thick. (a)
Determine whether the raft floats in water, and (b) if so, how much of the raft is
beneath the surface.
Solution.
(a) The weight of the raft is = g, is the mass of the raft and can be
calculated as = . The pinewood’s density is = 550 kg/cu.m, and its
volume is = 4.0m x 4.0m x 0.30m = 4.8 cu.m. Thus, we find the weight of the raft
to be;
= =

PHYS 2 – Engineering Physics 2 Archimedes’ Principle, Rate or Flow Week No. 2 Handout
and Continuity Principle
 STI Academic Center
P. Sanchez Street corner Pat Antonio
Street Sta. Mesa Manila, 1035 Metro Manila

= (550 kg/cu.m)(4.8 cu.m)(9.80 m/sq.s)

W = 26,000 N

The maximum possible buoyant force occurs when the entire raft is under the surface,
displacing a volume of water is = = 4.8 cu.m. According to Archimedes’
principle, the weight of this volume of water is the maximum buoyant force . It can
be obtained using the density of water:

= (1.000 x 10^3 kg/cu.m)(4.8 cu.m)(9.80 m/sq.s)

= 47,000 N

Since the maximum possible buoyant force exceeds the 26,000 N weight of the raft,
the raft will float only partially submerged at a distance h beneath the water.

(b) We now find the value of h. The buoyant force balances the raft’s weight, so =
26,000 N. However, the magnitude of the buoyant force is also the weight of the
displaced water, so = 26,000 N = . Using the density of water, we can also
express the weight of the displaced water as = , where the water
volume is = 4.0m x 4.0m x h. As a result,
26,000 N = =

h=

h=

h = 0.17 m

The Equation of Continuity

Have you ever used your thumb to control the water flowing from the end of a hose? If
so, you have seen that the water velocity increases when your thumb reduces the
cross-sectional area of the hose opening.
 This kind of fluid behaviour is described by the equation of continuity.
 If a fluid enters one end of a pipe at a certain rate, then fluid must also leave at
the same rate, assuming that there are no places between the entry and exit
points to add or remove fluid.

PHYS 2 – Engineering Physics 2 Archimedes’ Principle, Rate or Flow Week No. 2 Handout
and Continuity Principle
 STI Academic Center
P. Sanchez Street corner Pat Antonio
Street Sta. Mesa Manila, 1035 Metro Manila

 The mass of fluid per second that flows through a tube is called the mass flow
rate.

The mass flow rate ( ) has the same value at every position along a tube that has a
single entry and a single exit point for fluid flow.
For two positions along such a tube

=
where: = fluid density (kg/cu.m)
A = cross-sectional area of tube (sq.m)
v = fluid speed (m/s)
The density of an incompressible fluid does not change during flow, so that ₁ = ₂,
and the equation of continuity reduces to
Incompressible fluid A₁v₁ = A₂v₂

The quantity Av represents the volume of fluid per second (measured in cu.m/s, for
instance) that passes through the tube and is referred to as the volume flow rate, Q:
Q = Volume flow rate = Av
Sample Problem 2.

A garden hose has an unobstructed opening with a cross-sectional area of 2.85 x

sq.m, from which water fills a bucket in 30.0s. The volume of the bucket is 8.00 x
cu.m (about two gallons). Find the speed of the water that leaves the hose through (a)
the unobstructed opening and (b) an obstructed opening with half as much area.
Solution.

(a) The volume flow rate Q is equal to the volume of the bucket divided by the fill time.
Therefore, the speed of the water is

v= =

v = 0.936 m/s

(b) Water can be considered incompressible, so the equation of continuity can be

applied in the form A₁v₁ = A₂v₂. When the opening of the hose is unobstructed, its area
A₁, and the speed of the water is that determined in part (a) namely, v₁ = 0.936 m/s.
Since A₂ = ½ A₁, we find that

v₂ = (A₁ / A₂)v₁ = (1 / 0.5) (0.936 m/s)

v₂ = 1.87 m/s

PHYS 2 – Engineering Physics 2 Archimedes’ Principle, Rate or Flow Week No. 2 Handout
and Continuity Principle
 STI Academic Center
P. Sanchez Street corner Pat Antonio
Street Sta. Mesa Manila, 1035 Metro Manila

Quiz 2. Solve the ff. problem, show the complete solution and put a your final
answer in a box.

1) The density of ice is 917 kg/cu.m, and the density of sea water is 1025 kg/cu.m. A
swimming polar bear climbs onto a piece of floating ice that has a volume of 5.8 cu.m.
What is the weight of the heaviest bear that the ice can support without sinking
completely beneath water?
2) A fuel pump sends gasoline from a car’s fuel tank to the engine at a rate of 5.88 x
kg/s. The density of the gasoline is 735 kg/cu.m, and the radius of the fuel line is
3.18 x m. What is the speed at which the gasoline moves through the fuel line?

PHYS 2 – Engineering Physics 2 Archimedes’ Principle, Rate or Flow Week No. 2 Handout
and Continuity Principle