SPECIALIZED SUBJECT-STEM

GENERAL PHYSICS 1
___ SEMESTER, SY ______
QUARTER 2, MODULE 6
SPECIFIC GRAVITY, PRESSURE
RELATIONSHIPS, PASCAL’S PRINCIPLE
AND ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE
General Physics 1
Self-Learning Modules
___ SEMESTER, Quarter 2– Module 6: Specific Gravity, Pressure Relationships, Pascal’s
Principle and Archimedes Principle
First Edition, 2021

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 INTRODUCTION

After going through this module, you are expected to;

1. Relate density, specific gravity, mass, and volume to each other
2. Relate pressure to are and force
3. Relate pressure to fluid density and depth
4. State Pascal’s principle in fluid pressure.
5. Apply Pascal’s principle in analyzing fluids in various system;
6. Discuss the relationship of buoyant force to Archimedes principle.
7. Apply the concept of buoyancy and Archimedes principle;

Hello! Senior high students, this module was designed to help you master pressure,
specific gravity, pressure and depth. The discussion in the preceding chapters is about
solids. This chapter will mainly focus on the other states of matter- liquid, gas and plasma-
collectively called fluids. Fluids are cool and super useful. If you ever filled up a water
balloon to throw at your friends or blown up an air mattress, you’ll probably have some
intuitive understanding of how fluids work.
The scope of this module permits it to be used in many learning situations.

Lesson SPECIFIC GRAVITY

1
Specific gravity, also called relative density, ratio of the density of a substance to that
of a standard substance. The specific gravity (abbreviated as sg) of a substance tells you how
many times heavier the is than water. It is defined as the ratio of the density of the substance to
the density of water (pwater= 1 x 103kgm-3 ). Note that specific gravity has no units, but it is always
the same number as the density measured in gcm-3.

Specific gravity (sg) = Density of substance

Density of water

For example, take the density of lead as 11300kgm-3 and the density of water as 1000kgm-3
The specific gravity of lead = 11,300 = 11.3
1000
Let us consider this an example:
If 10 mL of sulfuric acid weigh 18 g, and 10 mL of water, under similar conditions, weigh
10 g, the specific gravity of the acid is:
Specific gravity = 18 (g)/ 10 (mL) = 1.8
The specific gravity of few substances is given in the table below. An object with specific gravity
less than 1 will float and an object with a specific gravity greater than 1 will sink. Similarly, an
object will float in water if its density is less than the density of water and sink if its density is
greater than that of water.

SUBSTANCE DENSITY SPECIFIC GRAVITY

(kgm-3) (gcm-3)

Methylated spirit 800 0.80 0.80

Water 1000 1.0 1.0

Aluminum 2700 2.7 2.7

Lead 11 400 11.4 11.14

Figure 1.1 Density and Specific Gravity comparison

PRACTICE EXERCISES

Activity 1.1: Will it Sink or Float

Procedures:
1. The following materials or objects are commonly seen at home:
a. Plant leaf
b. Plastic bottle
c. Piece of nail
d. Ball pen
e. Rubber band
 f. Bath soap
2. In the table below, put a check (√) on the column which do you think would happen if
these objects will be placed on water.

Material Sink Float

a. Plant leaf

b. Plastic bottle

c. Nail

d. Ball pen

e. Rubber band

f. Bath soap

Guide Questions:
1. Which materials sink in water? Which materials float on water?
2. Which objects do you think have lesser density with water? Greater density with water?

Lesson PRESSURE RELATIONSHIP

2 WITH FORCE AND AREA,
FLUID DENSITY AND DEPTH
The same force can have a very different effect depending on the area over which it is
exerted. In this lesson, learn about the relationship between force, area, and pressure, and how
changes in pressure can have some serious consequences.
Pressure is a measure of how much force is applied over a given area of an object, so it is
calculated by dividing the amount of force being applied by the area over which it is being
applied
Pressure, force and area are all related by the formula:

Pressure = Force = F
Area A
 Where P is the pressure, F is force, and A is area. You can rearrange this formula to find the
other two, for example, if we multiply both sides of the equation by A, then swap the left-hand
side and right-hand side, we get
F= p x A
So, we can calculate the force by multiplying the pressure by the area.
Since area is measured in square metres (m2), and force is measured in Newtons (N), the
standard units for pressure are Newton per square metre (N/m2). This are compound units.

Sample problem #1
Figure shows a fireman standing on a piece of plywood placed on a surface of a muddy ground.
The muddy ground can withstand a maximum pressure of 1050 Pa without sinking.

If the fireman has a mass of 78 kg and by considering the mass of the plywood as negligible,
calculate the minimum area of the plywood that can be used. [g=9.8 N kg -1]
Solution:
Let the area of the plywood be A.
P = F ≤ 1050 Pa
A
78 x 9.8 ≤ 1050
A
A ≥ 78 x 9.8 or 0.728 m2
1050

PRACTICE EXERCISES
Activity 2.1: In Which Area?
Procedures:
1. The illustrations below demonstrate the varying amount of Pressure in an area as the
same amount of force exerted to it.
2. Arrange the following illustrations below from lowest to the highest amount of Pressure
experienced by an object by redrawing its proper order on your notebook.
 A B C

Area Area Area

Guide Questions:
1. Which illustration has the lowest Pressure felt?
2. Which illustration has the highest Pressure felt?
3. What makes the Pressure felt in an area different?

Lesson PASCAL’S PRINCIPLE

3
Have you ever noticed that when an inflated balloon is pressed at one point, there is an
increased pressure at every other point of the balloon? Measurement shows that the increase is
the same at every point and equals to the applied pressure. This important observation led the
French scientist Blaise Pascal (1623-62) to say that:
‘’Any pressure applied to the fluid in an enclosed vessel is transmitted equally or
undiminished to every point of the fluid’’. This law is known as Pascal’s principle.

liquid
Figure 2.1 Pascal’s principle
Pascal’s principle has many other applications such as the hydraulic brakes in cars and
hydraulic controls in airplanes, dentist’s and Barber’s chairs.
To analyze the forces in the hydraulic lift, let force F 1 applied to the small piston of area
A1, causing a pressure increase:
∆P = F1
A1
Assuming the two pistons to be at the same height, the force F2, exerted by the fluid on
the large piston is related to F1 by
F1 = F2
A1 A
Hydraulic machines work by using liquids under pressure rather than levers or wheels. They
make use of two properties of liquids.
1. Liquids are virtually incompressible; they cannot be squashed.
2. The pressure on a trapped liquid is transmitted to all parts of the liquid.
A hydraulic jack shown in the diagram below is an application of Pascal’s principle. When a
force pushes down on the smaller surface, the liquid is forced into the large surface, pushing the
liquid up. The force exerts a pressure on the liquid. This pressure is transmitted through the
liquid and acts on the larger area, producing a greater upward force. Since a liquid is
incompressible, the volume of liquid forced down the small cylinder is equal to that forced up the
larger cylinder.
Pressure in small cylinder = pressure in larger cylinder.

Image source: https://www.google.com/search?q=pascal%27s+principle

Figure 2.2 Hydraulic lift

Pascal’s principle states that any pressure applied to fluid in an enclosed vessel is
transmitted equally or undiminished to every point of the fluid.
 PRACTICE EXERCISES

Activity 3.1 How Much Force?

Direction: Identify first the given and what is being asked on the problem before writing your
formula and proceed to calculation.
1. In hydraulic lift, if the radius of the smaller piston 2.50 cm and the radius of the larger
piston is 30.0 cm, what weight can the larger piston support when a force of 310N is
applied to the smaller piston?
Given: F1= _______________ r1= _____________
F2= _______________ r2= Solution:
Formula: _______________
2. One master cylinder piston exerts a force of 5N on the brake fluid. Assuming no loss
due to friction, what is the magnitude of the force exerted by the wheel cylinders on
each wheel? What retarding force acts on the whole car system?

Lesson BUOYANCY AND

4 ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE

Hello! Senior high students! Today, we will take a look at another common forces
associated with fluids. Unlike solids, fluids can flow so liquids such as water and blood and the
gases are fluids.
Why do some objects float in water and why some sink? Objects float in fluids because
they are buoyed up. What does it mean?
Example, if you immerse a cork in water and release it, the cork will go up and float in
the water. It means the cork will be buoyed up to the surface and remain there.
The Greek scientist, Archimedes (287- 211 B.C) discovered the relationship between the
principle of buoyancy or up thrust.
Archimedes’ principle states that when body immersed fully or partially in fluid, it
experiences an upward thrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by it. It explains
why an object is lighter when immersed in fluids.
When an object is immersed in a fluid, the fluid applies an upward force, a buoyant force
(Fb) or up thrust on the object. The object rises if its weight is less than the buoyant force.
 An object immersed in fluid displaces a volume of the fluid that is equal to the volume of
the object. The weight of the fluid displaced is equal to, W=mg.
From density, mass is equal to, m=pv. Hence, W= pVg, where p = density in kg/m3, V =
volume in m3 and g = pull of gravity in N/kg.

Archimedes’ principle applied to objects with different densities. If the density of the object is:

• Greater than that of the fluid, the object will sink.

• Equal to that of the fluid, the object will neither sink nor float.
• Less than that of the fluid, the object will float.

A FLOATING OBJECT AN OBJECT SINKS WHEN IT AN OBJECT REMAINS IN

EQUILIBRIUM
1 2
3

Weighs more than the fluid it

displaces

Weighs less than the fluid it

Weighs less than the fluid it
displaces displaces

Figure 3.1 Condition 1 Figure 3.2 Condition 2 Figure 3.3 Condition 3

Measurement of density using Archimedes principle

Archimedes’ principle describes the relationship between the buoyant force and the volume of
the displaced fluid.
We can write this principle in equation form as:

Fb= pfVfg

Where Fb is the buoyant force

Pf is the density of the displaced fluid
Vf is the volume of the displaced fluid
g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8ms-2 or 10ms-2)
 ➢ It is important to remember that the density and volume in this equation refer to the
displaced fluid and not the object submerged in it.
➢ Buoyant force depends on density. The denser a fluid is, the more easily an object will
float in it.

For a body floating in water:

Weight of the body= weight of the water displaced
mg = mwaterg

Sample Problem:
An object weighs 20N in the air. When placed in a can full of water, it weighs only 15N.
What is the size of the upthrust of the object?
Upthrust = weight of an object in air – weight of an object in water
= 20N – 15N = 5N
What weight of water is displaced from the can?
According to the Archimedes Principle,
Upthrust = to the weight of the fluid displaced.
Upthrust on object is 5N, therefore the weight of the water displaced = 5N.

PRACTICE EXERCISES
Activity 4.1: Explain to Me!
Directions: Explain briefly what is being asked. Use GOOGLE to help you find the
answer.
1. A 10.01lb piece of iron steel readily sinks in water, yet Montenegro Liner or any ship made
of iron and steel weigh thousands of tons float in the ocean. Why?
2. What are the applications of Buoyancy and Archimedes Principle in our daily life?
3. When a person floats in a swimming pool, he or she experiences an upthrust. What causes
this effect?
Instructions: Write your learning from the above discussion. Write your learning in your
notebook/answer sheet.
Upon reading the lesson above, I learned that
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
and realized that
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

WRITTEN WORKS
Direction: Read and analyze the paragraph. Write only the letter of your choice.
1. What is the cause of change in motion or change in state of motion?
a. Atmospheric pressure c. Pressure
b. Friction d. Force
2. As we go to the higher altitude, the atmospheric pressure….
a. Decreases c. Increases
b. Remains the same d. Cannot say
3. The ratio of the force, acting perpendicular to the area, on which it acts is known as…
a. Friction c. Force
b. Pressure d. Density
4. Which unit of pressure is equivalent to 1 Pa?
a. dyne/cm c. N/m
b. dyne/cm2 d. N/m2
5. Supposed this block of wood is placed in a liquid of density of 500 kg/m3. What will
happen to the block of wood?
a. It will sink.
b. It will be partially submerged.
c. It will float with no part of it above the surface of liquid
d. All of these are possible.
6. Which of the given mathematical expression can be used to find the magnitude of the
buoyant force?
a. Fb= pgV c. Fb= gAd
b. Fb= mgV d. Fb= pmV
 7. Which fluid principle states that, a change in pressure at any point in confined fluids is
transmitted in all directions throughout the fluid.
a. Archimedes’ c. Buoyant
b. Bernoulli’s d. Pascal’s
8. Which fluid mechanics principle explained the terms of the law of conservation of
energy?
a. Archimedes’ c. Buoyant
b. Bernoulli’s d. Pascal’s
9. Which statement is true?
a. For an ideal fluid flow, the greater the speed, the greater the pressure.
b. Atmospheric pressure decreases exponentially with increasing altitude.
c. Hydrostatic pressure exerted on a submerged object decreases with the depth of the
object.
d. The pressure exerted at one point on a confined fluid at rest will decrease as it is
transmitted to others part of the fluid.
10. The difference between absolute pressure and atmospheric pressure is called______
a. Air pressure c. Gauge pressure
b. Barometric pressure d. Hydrostatic pressure

PERFORMANCE TASK

Activity 4.2- Blow!

Directions: Read, understand and follow the given procedure below. Write your
observations in your answer sheets.
Procedure:
1. Fold a piece of paper in ½ lengthwise and make a paper tent.
2. Predict what will happen when you blow the paper tent. Will it appear or get it larger?
Will it remain the same? (nothing happened)? Or will it bend down toward the table?
3. Alternately, turn the paper tent upside down and blow through the V-shaped paper.
What have you noticed? Does it flatten? Why?
4. Repeat the procedure 1,2 and 3 as much as you can to have a reliable observation.
Guide Questions:
1. Which of the three principles of fluid mechanics explain your observation?
Explain why.
General Physics Text Book for Senior High School (Fluid Mechanics pg. 243- 258))
Introduction to fluid mechanics. Available at www.potto.org/fluidMech/intro.php (Accessed May
17, 205)
Lucas J. (2014), What is fluid dynamics? Available at m.livescience.com/47446-fluid-
dynamic.html (Accessed May 17,2015)

Key to Practice Exercises

Practice Exercise
Activity 1.1
1. Plant- float
2. Plastic bottle- float
3. Nail- sink
4. Ballpen- float
5. Rubber band- float
6. Bath soap- sink
Guide questions:
1. Sink- nail, bath soap
Float- plant leaf, plastic bottle, ballpen , rubber ban
2. - Materials with lesser density will float
- Material which are denser with water sink
Activity 2.1
3. Redrawn

C B A
1. c
2. a
3. area

Activity 3.1
Answer may Vary

Activity 4.1
Answer may Vary

Written Works 5. d
1. b 6. d
2. c 7. d
3. b 8. a
4. d 9. d
10. b

Performance Task: Answer may Vary