PROBLEM SET 1.

FORCE, WEIGHT, AND PRESSURE CONCEPTS

1. Assume the acceleration of gravity on a celestial body to be given as a function of

altitude by the expression g = 4- 1.6 X 10-6 h m/s2, where h is in meters above the surface
of the planet. A space probe weighed 100 kN on earth at sea level. Determine ( a ) the
mass of the probe, ( b )its weight on the surface of the planet, and ( c )its weight at an
elevation of 200 km above the surface of the planet.

2. When a body is accelerated under water, some of the water is also accelerated. This
makes the body appear to have a larger mass than it actually has. For a sphere at rest this
added mass is equal to the mass of one half of the displaced water. Calculate the force
necessary to accelerate a 10-kg, 300-mm-diameter sphere which is at rest under water at
the rate of 10 m/s2 in the horizontal direction. Use density of water= 1000 kg/m3.

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3. A deceleration of 25g, where 1g = 32.174 ft/s is sufficient to prove fatal to a human in
most automobile accidents. What force acts on a man of 160 lbm, when subjected to this
deceleration?

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4. Calculate the density, specific weight, mass, and weight of a body that occupies 200 ft if
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its specific volume is 10 ft /lbm.

5. The pressure at a given point is 50 mmHg absolute. Express this pressure in kPa, kPa
gage, and m of H2O abs if Patm= 80 kPa. Use the fact that mercury is 13.6 times heavier
than water.

6. You dive 5 m down in the ocean. What is the absolute pressure there?

7. A hot air balloon makes use of the lower density of the hot flue gas and air to provide
lifting power. If a spherical balloon 10 m in diameter uses hot gas with a specific gravity
of 0.70 referred to air at 0°C and 760 mm Hg (air density = 1.2929 g/liter), what mass, in
kilograms, can the balloon lift if the surrounding air has a specific gravity of 0.92 (same
reference)?

8. A laboratory room keeps a vacuum of 0.1 kPa. What net force does that put on the door
of size 2 m by 1 m?

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9. Density of liquid water is ρ = 1008 – T/2 [kg/m ] with T in C. If the temperature
increases 10oC how much deeper does a 1 m layer of water become?

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10. A steel cylinder of mass 2 kg contains 4 L of liquid water at 25 C at 200 kPa. Find the
total mass and volume of the system.

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11. The “standard” acceleration (at sea level and 45° latitude) due to gravity is 9.80665 m/s .
What is the force needed to hold a mass of 2 kg at rest in this gravitational field? How
much mass can a force of 1 N support?
12. A force of 125 N is applied to a mass of 12 kg in addition to the standard gravitation. If
the direction of the force is vertical up find the acceleration of the mass.

13. When you move up from the surface of the earth the gravitation is reduced as g = 9.807 −
3.32 × 10-6 z, with z as the elevation in meters. How many percent is the weight of an
airplane reduced when it cruises at 11 000 m?

14. A large chamber is separated into compartments 1 and 2, as shown in the figure below,
which are kept at different pressures. Pressure gage A reads 300 kPa and pressure gage B
reads 120 kPa. If the local barometer reads 720 mmHg, determine the absolute pressures
existing in the compartments, and the reading of gage C.

15. A bell jar 250 mm in diameter sits on a flat plate and is evacuated until a vacuum of 700
mmHg exists. The local barometer reads 760 mm mercury. Find the absolute pressure
inside the jar, and determine the force required to lift the jar off the plate. Neglect the
weight of the jar.

16. A horizontal 2-m-diameter gate is located in the bottom of a water tank as shown in the
figure below. Determine the force F required to just open the gate.

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17. The temperature of the earth’s atmosphere drops about 5 C for every 1000 m of elevation
above the earth’s surface. If the air temperature at ground level is 15oC and the pressure
is 760 mm Hg, at what elevation is the pressure 380 mm Hg? Assume that the air behaves
as an ideal gas.
18. If temperature does not change with height, estimate the boiling point of water at a height
of 3000 m above sea-level. The barometer reading at sea-level is 98.4 kN/m2 and the
temperature is 288.7 K. The vapour pressure of water at 288.7 K is 1.77 kN/m2. The
effective molecular weight of air is 29 kg/kmol.

Hint: 1. The air pressure at 3000 m is P2 and the pressure at sea level, P1 = 98.4 kN/m2.
2. Assume ideal gas law applies.
3. The relationship between vapour pressure and temperature (the boiling T) may
be expressed as:
𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑃 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑇

19. A right triangular plate of base 2.0 m and height 1.0 m is submerged vertically in water,
with the top vertex 3.0 m below the surface. Find the force on one side of the plate.

Hint: Recall in Physics/Calculus:

The force F on an area A at a depth y in a liquid of specific weight 𝛾 is given by

𝐹 = 𝛾𝑦𝐴

The force will increase if the density increases, or if the depth increases or if the
area increases. This is depicted in the following:

Therefore,
𝑏
𝐹 = 𝛾 ∫ 𝑥𝑦𝑑𝑦
𝑎
where

x is the length (in m) of the element of area (expressed in terms of y)

y is the depth (in m) of the element of area
w is the specific weight of the liquid
a is the depth at the top of the area in question (in m)
b is the depth at the bottom of the area in question (in m)