CBSE · NCERT · Class 11 Physics · Chapter 9

NCERT Solutions: Class 11 Physics Chapter 9 - Mechanical Properties of Fluids

19 textbook Q&A19 verifiedFree Content

Chapter-wise NCERT intext questions and exercise answers for Mechanical Properties of Fluids, grounded in the official textbook.

Questions are taken verbatim from the NCERT textbook; answers were grounded against the chapter's content during generation. Items needing review are marked.
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Exercises 19
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1Exercises19 questions
Q.9.1Explain why (a) The blood pressure in humans is greater at the feet than at the brain (b) Atmospheric pressure at a height of about 6 km decreases to nearly half of its value at the sea level, though the height of the atmosphere is more than 100 km (c) Hydrostatic pressure is a scalar quantity even though pressure is force divided by area.v
Solution

In a fluid column, pressure increases with depth by $\rho gh$, so blood pressure is greater at lower parts of the body. Atmospheric pressure is due to the weight of air above a point; because air is compressible, density is greatest near sea level and falls with height, making pressure drop rapidly in the first few kilometres. Hydrostatic pressure is scalar because it is specified by magnitude at a point; the force on a surface is normal to that surface.

Answer:

(a) Feet are at greater depth below the heart/brain, so hydrostatic pressure is larger. (b) Air density decreases rapidly with height, so much of the atmosphere's mass lies near the earth's surface. (c) Pressure at a point in a fluid has the same value in all directions; the force direction comes from the surface normal, not from pressure itself.

Q.9.2Explain why (a) The angle of contact of mercury with glass is obtuse, while that of water with glass is acute. (b) Water on a clean glass surface tends to spread out while mercury on the same surface tends to form drops. (Put differently, water wets glass while mercury does not.) (c) Surface tension of a liquid is independent of the area of the surface (d) Water with detergent disolved in it should have small angles of contact. (e) A drop of liquid under no external forces is always spherical in shapev
Solution

The contact angle depends on relative cohesive and adhesive forces. Water-glass adhesion is strong, so water spreads and has an acute contact angle. Mercury atoms cohere strongly and adhere weakly to glass, so mercury has an obtuse contact angle and forms drops. Surface tension does not depend on total area; increasing area needs proportionate work. Detergents act as wetting agents and lower the angle of contact. With no external force, a drop minimises surface energy by taking the shape of least area for fixed volume, a sphere.

Answer:

(a) Mercury has stronger cohesive attraction than adhesion to glass, while water adheres strongly to glass. (b) Water wets glass because adhesion dominates; mercury forms drops because cohesion dominates. (c) Surface tension is force per unit length or surface energy per unit area and is a property of the interface. (d) Detergents reduce surface tension and improve wetting, reducing the contact angle. (e) A sphere has minimum surface area for a given volume.

Q.9.3Fill in the blanks using the word(s) from the list appended with each statement: (a) Surface tension of liquids generally ... with temperatures (increases / decreases) (b) Viscosity of gases ... with temperature, whereas viscosity of liquids ... with temperature (increases / decreases) (c) For solids with elastic modulus of rigidity, the shearing force is proportional to ... , while for fluids it is proportional to ... (shear strain / rate of shear strain) (d) For a fluid in a steady flow, the increase in flow speed at a constriction follows (conservation of mass / Bernoulli’s principle) (e) For the model of a plane in a wind tunnel, turbulence occurs at a ... speed for turbulence for an actual plane (greater / smaller)v
Solution

Surface tension of liquids usually falls with temperature. Gas viscosity rises with temperature, while liquid viscosity falls. Solids resist shear strain; fluids resist the rate of shear strain. Speed increase at a constriction follows continuity, $Av=\text{constant}$. For a smaller model, the Reynolds number reaches the turbulent value only at greater speed.

Answer:

(a) decreases. (b) increases; decreases. (c) shear strain; rate of shear strain. (d) conservation of mass. (e) greater.

Q.9.4Explain why (a) To keep a piece of paper horizontal, you should blow over, not under, it (b) When we try to close a water tap with our fingers, fast jets of water gush through the openings between our fingers (c) The size of the needle of a syringe controls flow rate better than the thumb pressure exerted by a doctor while administering an injection (d) A fluid flowing out of a small hole in a vessel results in a backward thrust on the vessel (e) A spinning cricket ball in air does not follow a parabolic trajectoryv
Solution

By Bernoulli's principle, faster air above paper has lower pressure, so the higher pressure below supports the paper. Continuity makes water speed increase through small gaps. For laminar flow through a narrow tube, Poiseuille's law gives $Q\propto r^4\Delta P$, so needle radius controls flow strongly. Momentum conservation gives a reaction thrust opposite the emerging fluid jet. A spinning ball drags air differently on its two sides, producing pressure difference and lift/side force, so its path is not a simple parabola.

Answer:

(a) Blowing over the paper lowers pressure above it. (b) The small openings force water to emerge at high speed. (c) Flow rate is extremely sensitive to needle radius. (d) The outgoing fluid carries momentum, giving the vessel a recoil thrust. (e) Spin creates unequal air speeds and pressures around the ball, causing a sideways Magnus force.

Q.9.5A 50 kg girl wearing high heel shoes balances on a single heel. The heel is circular with a diameter 1.0 cm. What is the pressure exerted by the heel on the horizontal floor ?v
Solution

Force is $mg=50\times9.8=490\,\text{N}$. Heel radius is $0.005\,\text{m}$, so area $A=\pi r^2=7.85\times10^{-5}\,\text{m}^2$. Pressure $P=F/A=490/(7.85\times10^{-5})=6.24\times10^6\,\text{Pa}$.

Answer:

$6.2\times10^6\,\text{Pa}$.

Q.9.6Toricelli’s barometer used mercury. Pascal duplicated it using French wine of density 984 kg m–3. Determine the height of the wine column for normal atmospheric pressure.v
Solution

For a barometer, $P=\rho gh$. Thus $h=P/(\rho g)=1.013\times10^5/(984\times9.8)=10.5\,\text{m}$.

Answer:

$10.5\,\text{m}$.

Q.9.7A vertical off-shore structure is built to withstand a maximum stress of 109 Pa. Is the structure suitable for putting up on top of an oil well in the ocean ? Take the depth of the ocean to be roughly 3 km, and ignore ocean currents.v
Solution

The pressure due to seawater at depth $h$ is roughly $\rho gh\approx1000\times9.8\times3000=2.94\times10^7\,\text{Pa}$. This is much less than the maximum stress $10^9\,\text{Pa}$, so the structure is suitable if currents and other effects are ignored.

Answer:

Yes. The hydrostatic pressure at 3 km depth is about $2.9\times10^7\,\text{Pa}$, well below $10^9\,\text{Pa}$.

Q.9.8A hydraulic automobile lift is designed to lift cars with a maximum mass of 3000 kg. The area of cross-section of the piston carrying the load is 425 cm2. What maximum pressure would the smaller piston have to bear ?v
Solution

Pressure transmitted through the fluid is $P=F/A=mg/A$. Here $F=3000\times9.8=2.94\times10^4\,\text{N}$ and $A=425\,\text{cm}^2=4.25\times10^{-2}\,\text{m}^2$. Thus $P=2.94\times10^4/(4.25\times10^{-2})=6.92\times10^5\,\text{Pa}$.

Answer:

$6.9\times10^5\,\text{Pa}$.

Q.9.9A U-tube contains water and methylated spirit separated by mercury. The mercury columns in the two arms are in level with 10.0 cm of water in one arm and 12.5 cm of spirit in the other. What is the specific gravity of spirit ?v
Solution

Since mercury levels are the same, pressures at the two mercury interfaces are equal. Thus $\rho_w g(10.0\,\text{cm})=\rho_s g(12.5\,\text{cm})$. Therefore $\rho_s/\rho_w=10.0/12.5=0.80$.

Answer:

$0.80$.

Q.9.10In the previous problem, if 15.0 cm of water and spirit each are further poured into the respective arms of the tube, what is the difference in the levels of mercury in the two arms ? (Specific gravity of mercury = 13.6)v
Solution

From Exercise 9.9, specific gravity of spirit is $0.80$. Let the mercury level difference be $h$ cm, with mercury lower on the water side. Accounting for the changed liquid-column heights in equal arms gives $25+h/2=0.80(27.5-h/2)+13.6h$. Hence $3=12.7h$ and $h=0.236\,\text{cm}$.

Answer:

About $0.23\,\text{cm}$, with mercury lower in the water arm.

Q.9.11Can Bernoulli’s equation be used to describe the flow of water through a rapid in a river ? Explain.v
Solution

Bernoulli's equation assumes steady, incompressible, non-viscous flow along a streamline. Flow through a rapid is turbulent, dissipative and highly non-steady, so Bernoulli's equation is not directly applicable.

Answer:

No, not reliably.

Q.9.12Does it matter if one uses gauge instead of absolute pressures in applying Bernoulli’s equation ? Explain.v
Solution

Bernoulli's equation involves pressure differences along a streamline. Gauge pressure differs from absolute pressure by the constant atmospheric pressure. Adding or subtracting the same constant from all pressure terms does not change the equation.

Answer:

No, as long as the same reference pressure is used throughout.

Q.9.13Glycerine flows steadily through a horizontal tube of length 1.5 m and radius 1.0 cm. If the amount of glycerine collected per second at one end is 4.0 × 10–3 kg s–1, what is the pressure difference between the two ends of the tube ? (Density of glycerine = 1.3 × 103 kg m–3 and viscosity of glycerine = 0.83 Pa s). [You may also like to check if the assumption of laminar flow in the tube is correct].v
Solution

Volume flow rate is $Q=\dot m/\rho=4.0\times10^{-3}/(1.3\times10^3)=3.08\times10^{-6}\,\text{m}^3\text{s}^{-1}$. Poiseuille's law gives $\Delta P=8\eta LQ/(\pi r^4)=8(0.83)(1.5)(3.08\times10^{-6})/[\pi(0.01)^4]=9.75\times10^2\,\text{Pa}$. The mean speed gives Reynolds number about $0.31$, far below the turbulent range, so laminar flow is consistent.

Answer:

$9.8\times10^2\,\text{Pa}$ approximately; the flow is laminar.

Q.9.14In a test experiment on a model aeroplane in a wind tunnel, the flow speeds on the upper and lower surfaces of the wing are 70 m s–1and 63 m s-1 respectively. What is the lift on the wing if its area is 2.5 m2 ? Take the density of air to be 1.3 kg m–3.v
Solution

By Bernoulli's principle, pressure is lower where speed is higher. Pressure difference is $\Delta P=\frac12\rho(v_{upper}^2-v_{lower}^2)=\frac12(1.3)(70^2-63^2)=605\,\text{Pa}$. Lift $=\Delta P A=605(2.5)=1.51\times10^3\,\text{N}$.

Answer:

$1.5\times10^3\,\text{N}$ upward.

Q.9.15Figures 9.20(a) and (b) refer to the steady flow of a (non-viscous) liquid. Which of the two figures is incorrect ? Why ?v
Solution

At the constriction, flow speed is greater by continuity. For a non-viscous steady flow, Bernoulli's principle then requires pressure to be lower at the constriction. The piezometer level at the narrow section should therefore be lower, as in Fig. 9.20(b), not higher as in Fig. 9.20(a).

Answer:

Figure 9.20(a) is incorrect.

Q.9.16The cylindrical tube of a spray pump has a cross-section of 8.0 cm2 one end of which has 40 fine holes each of diameter 1.0 mm. If the liquid flow inside the tube is 1.5 m min–1, what is the speed of ejection of the liquid through the holes ?v
Solution

Tube area is $A_1=8.0\,\text{cm}^2=8.0\times10^{-4}\,\text{m}^2$ and tube speed is $v_1=1.5/60=0.025\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Total hole area is $A_2=40\pi(0.0005)^2=3.14\times10^{-5}\,\text{m}^2$. Continuity gives $A_1v_1=A_2v_2$, so $v_2=(8.0\times10^{-4})(0.025)/(3.14\times10^{-5})=0.64\,\text{m s}^{-1}$.

Answer:

$0.64\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ approximately.

Q.9.17A U-shaped wire is dipped in a soap solution, and removed. The thin soap film formed between the wire and the light slider supports a weight of 1.5 × 10–2 N (which includes the small weight of the slider). The length of the slider is 30 cm. What is the surface tension of the film ?v
Solution

A soap film has two surfaces, so the upward force is $2Sl$. Thus $S=W/(2l)=1.5\times10^{-2}/[2(0.30)]=2.5\times10^{-2}\,\text{N m}^{-1}$.

Answer:

$2.5\times10^{-2}\,\text{N m}^{-1}$.

Q.9.19What is the pressure inside the drop of mercury of radius 3.00 mm at room temperature ? Surface tension of mercury at that temperature (20 °C) is 4.65 × 10–1 N m–1. The atmospheric pressure is 1.01 × 105 Pa. Also give the excess pressure inside the drop.v
Solution

For a liquid drop with one surface, excess pressure is $2S/r$. Thus $\Delta P=2(4.65\times10^{-1})/(3.00\times10^{-3})=310\,\text{Pa}$. Pressure inside $=1.01\times10^5+310=1.0131\times10^5\,\text{Pa}$.

Answer:

Excess pressure is $310\,\text{Pa}$; total pressure inside is $1.013\times10^5\,\text{Pa}$ approximately.

Q.9.20What is the excess pressure inside a bubble of soap solution of radius 5.00 mm, given that the surface tension of soap solution at the temperature (20 °C) is 2.50 × 10–2 N m–1 ? If an air bubble of the same dimension were formed at depth of 40.0 cm inside a container containing the soap solution (of relative density 1.20), what would be the pressure inside the bubble ? (1 atmospheric pressure is 1.01 × 105 Pa).v
Solution

A soap bubble in air has two surfaces, so $\Delta P=4S/r=4(2.50\times10^{-2})/(5.00\times10^{-3})=20\,\text{Pa}$. An air bubble inside liquid has one interface, so excess pressure is $2S/r=10\,\text{Pa}$. At depth $h=0.40\,\text{m}$ in liquid of density $1.20\times10^3\,\text{kg m}^{-3}$, outside pressure is $P_0+\rho gh=1.01\times10^5+1200(9.8)(0.40)$. Adding 10 Pa gives $P_{inside}=1.057\times10^5\,\text{Pa}$.

Answer:

Soap bubble excess pressure is $20\,\text{Pa}$. The pressure inside the air bubble at 40.0 cm depth is about $1.057\times10^5\,\text{Pa}$.