Question

A tank with a square base of area 1.0 m² is divided by a vertical partition in the middle. The bottom of the partition has a small-hinged door of area 20 cm² . The tank is filled with water in one compartment, and an acid (of relative density 1.7) in the other, both to a height of 4.0 m. compute the force necessary to keep the door close.

Answer 1

Base area of the given tank, A = 1.0 m² 

Area of the hinged door, a = 20 cm² = 20 × 10^–4 m² 

Density of water, ρ₁ = 10³ kg/m³ 

Density of acid, ρ₂ = 1.7 × 10³ kg/m³ 

Height of the water column, h₁ = 4 m

Height of the acid column, h₂ = 4 m

Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8 Pressure due to water is given as:

Pressure difference between the water and acid columns:

Therefore, the force necessary to keep the door closed is 54.88 N.