NNPC FSTP Technicians

Physics

Course Code:
Lesson 4
 Contents

Density and Pressure

 Performance Objectives 1

Upon completion of this Course, students will be

able to:
• State that pressure is the force per unit area
and has the unit Pascal or Newton per square
metre
• Solve problems involving pressure, force and
area;
• State that density is mass per unit volume
• Solve problems involving density of liquids,
solids and Gases.
 Performance Objectives 2

Upon completion of this Course, students will be

able to:
• State that when a substance changes from
the solid or liquid state to the gaseous state
• Its volume increase by factor of 103
• Its density decreases by a factor of 10 -3;
• Derive the formula for pressure in a liquid as x
gxh
• Solve problem involving pressure density and
depth.
 Density

• First it tells us how much matter there is in

every 1m3 of the object. Compare this with
the mass of the object which tells us the
amount of matter in the whole object.
• Probably the most important it gives relates
to the “packing” of the molecules in an
object or a substance. Consider a piece of
expanded polystyrene with density 16 kg
m-3.
 Density

• By squeezing the polystyrene we can

easily reduce its volume to half of its
original volume. Since the mass remains
the same, the density of the polystyrene
doubles.
 Density

• This means that if we push the molecules

of a material closer together we increase
the density of the material.
• How does the density of a substance in the
gaseous state compare with its density in
the liquid and solid states?
 Density

• When solid changes state from a solid to a

liquid there is very little change in volume
so since the mass remains constant the
density remains constant.
• The following experiment can be used to
illustrate the change in volume which takes
place when a substance changes from the
solid to the gaseous state.
 Density

• A cube of solid CO2 of volume 1 cm3 is

allowed to vaporize under water and the
resulting gas collected in measuring cylinders
as show below:

Water

• It is found that approximately 1000 cm3 of gas

is collected.
 Density

• The volume of the gaseous state is therefore

1000 times greater than that of the solid state.
Since the mass remains contend this means the
density of the gaseous state is 1000 times less
than that solid state.
• What happens to the particle spacing when the
changes take place? Since the volume increased
by a factor 1000 the particle spacing must have
increased by a factor of 3 √1000 i.e.
approximately 10.
• The density of air can be found experimentally
using the apparatus below:
Density
 Density

• The mass M1 of a 500 m1 flask and air inside is found

using an electronic balance which can measure to
0.01g. A vacuum flack is now used to remove the
flask and the new M2 found. The mass of the air
extracted is then calculated (M1 – M2).
• The volume of the air removed by the pump can be
found by immersing the flask in water and using a
measuring cylinder to obtain the volume of the water
which enters the flask.
• The density of the air is then calculated from
• Density = mass of air extracted
• Volume of air extracted
 Pressure

• Pressure p is the force, normal to a surface,

acting on unit area.

• Pressure = force OR p = F where force is in N and area in m2

• Area A

• Pressure has the unit Pa (Pascal) or Nm-2

 Pressure

Note:
1. To increase the Pressure we can increases
the force and/or decrease the area of
contact.
2. Approximate air Pressure at sea level is 1 x
105 Pa.
3. 1 m2 = 104 cm2
1 m3 = 106 cm3.
 Pressure

Example 1
The area of the sole of a person’s shoe is 175 cm2. He
has a mass of 35 kg. Calculate the Pressure on the floor
under one foot when it supports all the person’s weight.

Force exerted on the ground = mg 35 x 9.8 = 343 N

Area of the sole of the shoe = 175 x 10-4 = 1.75 x 10-2 m2
Pressure = F = 343 = 1.96 x 104 Pa
A 1.75 x 10-2
 Pressure in Liquids

• Pressure at a depth in a liquid

• A point in a liquid has forces on it caused by the liquid all
around it as shown in figure (1) below:

• The forces acting on the point are the same size in all
directions so any liquid at the point does not move.
• These forces act at right angles to any surface in the liquid
and cause a Pressure on the surface, this is shown in
figure (2).
 Pressure in Liquids

• The Pressure P, caused by a liquid, at a point

at depth h in the liquid is directly proportional
to.
• The depth h of the point
• The density p of the liquid.
• This gives the relationship
• P=pgh
• Where p is in kg m-3, h is in metres and g is
the gravitational field strength in N kg-1
 Pressure, Depth and Density

• As a diver descends the Pressure on his body increases. The

Pressure is due to the weight of liquid above him.
• Consider the cylinder of water shown below.
• Pressure = F
A
• Pressure = m g
A
• Pressure = V p g
A
• P = Ah x pg
A
• P=hpg
• P in Pa, h in m, p in kg m-3 and g in N kg-1
 Pressure, Depth and Density

In reality the pressure is (h p g + 1

atmosphere) but the pressure on the diver
before he entered the water was 1
atmosphere so only the increase in
pressure due to the liquid has been
considered.
 Transmission of Fluid Pressure

• The principle of transmissibility of fluid

pressure states that the pressure at any point
of a fluid at rest is transmitted without loss to
all other points of the fluid. In the diagram
below a force on the piston A in a closed
cylinder full of water, for example, produces a
pressure p exerted on the piston by the water.
 Transmission of Fluid Pressure

• The same pressure is exerted on the

container walls and also on the face of the
second piston B. The pressure is said to be
transmitted equally throughout the liquid.
 Density: Relative Density

• The density of a liquid is its mass per unit

volume and the SI unit is kg/m3. The density
of water is particularly important and must be
remembered, thus
• Density of water = 1000 kg/m3 = 1 kg/litre = 1 g/cm3
• The relative density of a liquid is its density
relative to that of water (at 4o C).
• Average values of relative density for some
liquids are as follows:
 Density: Relative Density

Liquid Relative density

Pure water 1.00
Sea water 1.026
Mercury 13.6
Petrol 0.75
Lubricating 0.9
Turpentine 0.87
• For example, if the relative density of petrol is 0.8, density of water,
i.e. 0.8 x 1 = 800 kg/m3
 Hydraulic Machines

• Hydraulic machines
• A hydraulic is a machine which uses water to
transmit force or do useful work. The term
hydraulic is also applied where some other fluid is
used, e.g. oil-hydraulics.
• The Hydraulic Press
• The hydraulic is shown below. Cylinders X and Y
are connected by a pipe and the whole apparatus
is filled with a liquid. The piston in cylinder Y
carries a load W. The load is raised by applying a
force P to the piston in cylinder X
Hydraulic Press
 Hydraulic Machines

• If the liquid is assumed to be incompressible then the

volume of fluid forced out of cylinder X is equal to the
volume of which flows into cylinder Y. Let a and A be
the area of the pistons X and Y respectively. Let
piston X move downwards through a distance x, thus
displacing a volume of liquid equal to a x x. If piston Y
rises through a distance y then the volume entering
the cylinder is A x y.
• Hence a x x = A x Y
• i.e. y= a
• x= A
 Hydraulic Machines

• Thus the distance moved by each piston is

inversely proportional to its area.

• The effort required to raise the load W may be

calculated as follows. Let the Pressure on
piston X be p; then the force on this piston is:

• Effort = p x a or p = Effort
a
 Hydraulic Machines

• By the principles of transmissibility of

Pressure, the Pressure on piston Y is also
equal to p. Now, since the load on this piston
is W, we have, therefore,
• P = W hence p = P = W
A a A
i.e. P = a
W A thus the load on each piston is proportional to its area.
 Hydraulic Machines

• For an ideal machine with frictionless the work done

on the piston at X is equal to the work done by the
piston at Y. This is shown as follows:
• Work done at X = P x x
• = a W x x, since P = a W
A A
• = a W x A y, since x = A y
A a a
• = W x y = work done at Y
 Hydraulic Machines

• Example. A hydraulic press is to lift a mass of 10

tonnes. The area of the piston in the load cylinder is
0.4 m2, and the area of the piston in the second
cylinder is 0.05 m2. Calculate (a) the effort required to
lift the load, (b) the distance moved by the effort when
the load is raised by 75 mm.
W = 10 x 9.8 = 98 kN
• (a) Effort = W x a = 98 x 0.05 = 12.25kN
A 0.4
• (b) Distance moved by effort = x = y x a = 75 x 0.4 = 600mm
A 0.05
 Practice Questions

1. The pressure at a depth of 0.5 m in a

particular liquid is 3750 Pa above
atmospheric pressure. At what depth would
the pressure rise to 17.5 kPa above
atmospheric pressure?
2. The pressure at a certain depth would of
fresh water is 20 kPa above atmospheric
pressure. What would the pressure be at the
same depth in another liquid with a density
of 1.25 times that of water.
 Practice Questions

3. A liquid container has an irregular shape as

shown. It contains the same liquid
throughout. Which column of liquid produces
the greatest pressure at the bottom?