DENSITY:

Density is the mass per unit volume of a substance.

Mathematically, ρ = m/v
The SI unit of density is kg/m3. For a specific material, irrespective of its shape and size, its density
remains the same.
The diagrams below show three pieces of iron of different shape and size. All 3 samples have the
same density because they are made of the same material.

EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE DENSITY OF AN IRREGULAR OBJECT:

• The mass of the object is found out using an electronic balance.
• Some water is poured into a calibrated measuring cylinder.
• The volume of the water is recorded.
• The irregular object is immersed in water using a light string.
• The new volume is recorded.
• The change in volume is calculated by subtracting the initial volume from the new volume.
• The change in volume of water is equal to the volume of the irregular object.
• The density is then calculated using the equation: ρ = m/v
Precautions:
• Wear safety goggles.
• Take readings at eye level to avoid parallax error.
• The object should be slowly immersed in water so that water does not spill out.

PRESSURE:
Pressure in solids:
The equation that links pressure, force and area is given by: P = F/A. The SI unit of pressure is
pascal (Pa). Another unit of pressure can be Newtons per metres squared (N/m2).
The diagram on the left shows the same block kept at two
different positions.
• In either position, the force remains same because
the weight remains same.
• The pressure in position 2 is greater as the area of
contact is smaller and according to P = F/A, the
smaller the area of contact, the larger the pressure.
 The diagram shows some coins stacked up in a pile
in position 1 and spread-out in position 2.
• The force remains same as the weight
remains same.
• The area of contact in position 2 is greater
and according to P = F/A, the pressure is
smaller.

Pressure in liquids:

Pressure in liquids is given by the equation: P = hρg, where:

• P is the pressure;

• h is the depth from the surface;

• ρ is the density of the liquid;

• g is the gravitational field strength.

From this equation, it can be concluded that pressure in a liquid depends on the depth, provided

that ρ and g are constant.

EXPERIMENT TO DEMONSTRATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRESSURE AND DEPTH IN

LIQUIDS:
A cylinder is taken and three holes are drilled in it
at equal intervals of the same size. The holes are
plugged in with corks. The cylinder is filled with
water and the plugs are removed at the same
time.

The diagram on the left shows how water pours

out of the holes.

It is seen that water from the bottom hole pours

out with the greatest speed because water at the
level of the bottom hole exerts the greatest
pressure as it is at the highest depth.
PROPERTIES OF PRESSURE IN LIQUIDS:
1. Pressure in liquids increases with depth.
2. The pressure remains constant at a certain depth at any given point.


The pressure at points X, Y and Z is the same because they are all at the same


level.
3. Pressure at a certain point in a liquid acts in all directions.

4. Atmospheric pressure: Atmospheric pressure acts on all objects including us

because of the Earth’s atmosphere. The value of the atmospheric pressure is about
100000 Pa or 100 kPa. However, we do not feel this atmospheric pressure because
our blood pressure balances out the atmospheric pressure.

PRESSURE IN GASES:

Gas molecules move randomly and collide with the walls of their containers. As they rebound, there is
a change in momentum which causes a force to be exerted and pressure is given by force per unit
area.

Brownian motion:

Brownian motion is the random movement of the larger particles due to the collisions with smaller
particles of the fluid.

Brownian motion in liquids can be observed when pollen grains are suspended in water. It is observed
that pollen grains move in a haphazard manner because they are continuously bombarded by water
molecules.

Brownian motion in gases can be observed in a smoke cell. It is seen that the smoke particles move in
a random haphazard manner because they are completely bombarded by the air molecules.

From the observation of Brownian motion, it can be concluded that the molecules of all matter are in
continuous motion.

STATES OF MATTER:

STATE SHAPE VOLUME ARRANGEMENT MOTION

OF MOLECULES
Solid Fixed shape Fixed volume Tightly packed Vibrate about
mean fixed
position
Liquid No fixed shape/ Fixed volume Tightly packed Slide past
Shape of the one another
container
Gas No shape Takes the Further apart/Loosely Move randomly
volume of the packed at high speed
container
The diagram shows the arrangement of molecules in ice (solid), water (liquid) & gas (steam).