AP Physics 2

Unit 1 Practice Exercises

Directions: Show the steps required to arrive at the answer. Work out the problems on separate page.

1.1 – Fluids
1. Is peanut butter a fluid? Briefly justify your answer.
Yes, peanut butter will flow under pressure.

2. Rank the pressure at the bottom of the containers shown:

All the pressures are equal since the depth is the same.

3. Briefly describe why you feel your ears “pop” when you drive up a mountain.
As you drive up higher, the air becomes less dense, so there is less air pressure on you, causing air in your ears
to push outward.

4. A 8 kg cat stands on a horizontal surface.

a) Suppose the average density of cat matter is 800 kg/m3. What is the volume of the cat?
b) What is the pressure the cat exerts on the surface if each of the cat’s paws has a surface
area of .003 m3?
𝑚 8 𝑘𝑔 3
a) 𝑉 = 𝜌 = 𝑘𝑔 = .01 𝑚
800 3
𝑚
𝑚
𝐹 (8 𝑘𝑔)(10 2 )
𝑠
b) 𝑃 = 𝐴 = = 6,667 𝑃𝑎
4(.003 𝑚2 )

5. The four tires of a Hyundai Elantra are inflated to a gauge pressure of 𝟐. 𝟎𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟓 Pa. Each tire has a surface
area in contact with the ground of .025 m2. Determine the weight of the car.
𝑭 = 𝑷𝑨 = (𝟐𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝑷𝒂)(𝟒𝒙. 𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝒎𝟐 ) = 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝑵

6. The tube shown is filled some liquid. The pressure at point A is PA. Find the pressure at the labeled points.

𝑃𝐴 = 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀
𝑃𝐵 = 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀 + 𝜌𝑔ℎ1
𝑃𝐶 = 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀 + 𝜌𝑔(ℎ1 + ℎ2 )
𝑃𝐷 = 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀 + 𝜌𝑔ℎ1
𝑃𝐸 = 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀 + 𝜌𝑔(ℎ1 + ℎ2 )
𝑃𝐹 = 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀 + 𝜌𝑔(ℎ1 + ℎ2 + ℎ3 )
𝑃𝐺 = 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀 + 𝜌𝑔(ℎ1 + ℎ2 )

7. A barber cuts a customer’s hair without making small talk in order to maximize their tip. The barber applies a
force of 250 N to a hydraulic piston with a surface area of .02 m2. What is the maximum mass the barber can
raise with the piston?

𝑭𝟏 𝑭𝟐 𝑨𝟐 . 𝟓 𝒎𝟐
= → 𝑭𝟐 = 𝑭𝟏 ( ) = (𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝑵) ( ) = 𝟔𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝑵
𝑨𝟏 𝑨 𝟐 𝑨𝟏 . 𝟎𝟐 𝒎𝟐
This corresponds to 625 kg.
8. The weight of Earth’s atmosphere exerts a pressure of 𝟏. 𝟎𝟏𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝑷𝒂 at sea level. Estimate the weight of the
earth’s atmosphere. (𝑹𝑬 = 𝟔. 𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎)
𝑭 = 𝑷𝑨 = (𝟏𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝑷𝒂)(𝟒𝝅(𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟔 )𝟐 ) = 𝟒. 𝟓𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟗 𝑵

1.2 – Buoyancy
1. A fisherman is in a canoe floating on a small pond. He drops a bass overboard into the pond. What happens
to the level of the pond?
The rock displaces a volume of water equal in weight to the weight of the rock when it is in the canoe. In the
water, it displaces a volume of water equal to its volume. The water level will therefore fall.

2. A stone has a radius of 3 cm and density of 0.4 g/cm3. What force is required to hold it completely under
water?

3. Rank the densities of the four objects shown.

D>A>C>B

4. Wood blocks that have different masses and different volumes are floating in water. On top of these blocks
are additional masses as shown. Rank the buoyant forces exerted on the blocks by the water.

Since all are floating on the water, the buoyant force on each is equal to their weight.
D > (B = A) > C

5. Blocks that have different masses and volumes are suspended by strings in
water. The blocks are at two different depths below the surface as shown.
a) Rank the buoyant force exerted on the blocks by the water.
b) Rank the tensions in the strings the block are attached to.

a) All the block are fully submerged, so the buoyant force is based on the
volume of the block since they displace all their volumes.
(A = D) > (B = C)
b) The tension in the strings has to overcome the value of weight – buoyant force.
B > C > (A = D)
6. A 20.0-kg lead mass rests on the bottom of a pool. SG = 11.34
a) What is the volume of the lead?
b) What buoyant force acts on the lead?
c) What is the normal force acting on the lead?

7. An stapler weighs 12 N in air and 10 N when submerged in water.

a) What is the stapler’s volume?
b) What is the stapler’s density?
Since the stapler weighs (mg) 12 N in air, it’s mass is 1.2 kg. It weighs 2 N less in water due to the buoyant
force, so the buoyant force is equal to 2 N.

𝒌𝒈 𝒌𝒈
8. Ice (𝝆𝑰𝑪𝑬 = 𝟗𝟐𝟎 𝒎𝟑) floats in the ocean 𝝆𝑺𝑬𝑨 𝑾𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑹 = 𝟏𝟎𝟑𝟎 𝒎𝟑 ) .
a) What fraction of the ice is submerged?
b) The ice melts completely. What happens to the level of the water?

a) Since the ice floats, the buoyant force is equal to its weight.
∑ 𝐹 = 0 = 𝐹𝐵 − 𝐹𝑔 → 𝐹𝐵 = 𝐹𝐺
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑔(𝐴ℎ𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 ) = 𝜌𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑔(𝐴ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑒 )
ℎ𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝜌𝑖𝑐𝑒 920 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
= = = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟗
ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 1030 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
b) The water level will rise a little bit since the ice is less dense. While the amount of sea water displaced by the
ice is equal to its weight, the melted fresh water will take up a slightly larger volume than the displaced salt
water. This results in a small increase in the water level.
*In general, ice melting into freshwater will not lead to a change in water level*

9. A boat is 1.00 m wide and 2.00 m long. A person steps into the boat and it sinks an additional 4.00 cm into
the water. What is the person’s mass?
The additional buoyant force is equal to the weight of the person since the boat doesn’t sink:
𝒌𝒈
𝑭𝑩 = 𝒎𝒈 → 𝑭𝑩 = 𝝆𝑽𝒈 = 𝒎𝒈 → 𝒎 = 𝝆𝑽 = (𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟑 ) (𝟏 𝒎)(𝟐 𝒎)(. 𝟎𝟒 𝒎) = 𝟖𝟎 𝒌𝒈
𝒎
10. A boat of mass M can displace a maximum volume of 𝑉𝐵 . The boat is floating on water of density 𝜌𝑊 and is
loaded with creates of average density 𝜌𝐶 . The crates are cubes with edge length of 𝑠. Derive an expression for
the number of crates the boat can load without exceeding its maximum displaced volume.
The weight of the crates is equal to the buoyant forces:
𝐹𝐵 = 𝐹𝑊𝐸𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇
→ 𝜌𝑤 𝑉𝐵 𝑔 = 𝑛𝜌𝐶 𝑠 3 𝑔
𝜌𝑊 𝑉𝐵
→𝑛=
𝜌𝐶 𝑠 3

11. A hollow sphere floats exactly half submerged in water of density 1000 kg/m3. The outer radius of the
sphere is 15 cm and the inner radius is 14 cm. Calculate the density of the material of the sphere.

12. A steel cable holds a 200 kg submarine 4 meters below the surface of the ocean (the specific gravity of
saltwater is 1.03). If the volume of water displaced by the submarine is 0.1 m3, what is the tension in the cable?

13. A light spring of force constant k = 200 N/m rests vertically on the bottom of a
𝑘𝑔
beaker of water as shown. A 5.00-kg block of wood (𝜌 = 650 𝑚3) is connected to the
spring, and the block–spring system reaches equilibrium. What is the distance, ∆𝐿,
that the spring is compressed?

∆𝑳 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟑 𝒎
14. This question is about Archimedes’ Principle.
a) Show that the pressure at a depth h below the free surface of a liquid of density ρ is given by
𝜌 = 𝜌𝐴𝑇𝑀 + 𝜌𝑔ℎ
b) Suggest what, if anything, will happen to the pressure at a depth h below the free surface of the
liquid in a container, if the container:
i. falls freely under gravity
ii. is accelerated upwards with acceleration
c) A block of wood floats in water with 75% of its volume submerged. The same block when floating
in oil has 82% of its volume submerged. The density of water is 1000 kg/m3. Calculate:
i. the density of the wood
ii. the density of the oil.

a)
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = →
𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
(𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟)(𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒)
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 =
𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑥 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑥 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 =
𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝑚𝑔 𝜌𝑉𝑔 𝜌(𝐴ℎ)𝑔
𝑃= = =
𝐴 𝐴 𝐴
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ + 𝑃𝐴𝑇𝑀
𝑏) i. There will be no pressure since there will be no net force anywhere in the container since all molecules will
be in free-fall.
ii. The pressure will increase since the apparent weight of the water will increase.
c) i. 750 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
750 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 𝑘𝑔
ii. 0.82 = = 915 𝑚3
𝜌𝑂𝐼𝐿
1.3 – Fluid Dynamics
1. In a shower, water enters the shower head through a tube of diameter 1.2 cm with a speed of 1.1 m/s. The
shower head has 30 small holes, each of diameter 0.20 cm. Calculate the speed with which the water exits one
of these holes.
𝑨𝟏 𝒗𝟏 = 𝑨𝟐 𝒗𝟐 →
𝒎
(𝝅)(. 𝟎𝟎𝟔 𝒎)𝟐 (𝟏. 𝟏 )
𝒗𝟐 = 𝒔 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟐 𝒎/𝒔
𝟑𝟎(𝝅)(. 𝟎𝟎𝟏 𝒎)𝟐

2. Water of density is pumped out of a tank though a hose of radius 1.2 cm. The water in the hose has a constant
speed of 3.8 m/s. The water is raised a vertical distance of 4.0 m before being ejected into the surroundings.
Estimate the power of the pump.
This is answered using physics 1 concepts on calculating power on lifting a mass up a certain height.
𝒎𝒈𝒉 𝝆𝑽𝒈𝒉 𝒌𝒈 𝒎
𝑷= = = (𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟑 ) (𝝅)(. 𝟎𝟏𝟐 𝒎)𝟐 (𝟒 𝒎) (𝟑. 𝟖 ) = 𝟔. 𝟗 𝑾
𝒕 𝒕 𝒎 𝒔
3. Oil of density 850 kg/m3 flows in the pipe shown below. Calculate
the pressure shown by the gauge on the upper side of the pipe.
𝟏 𝟏
𝑷𝟏 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝟏 + 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝟏 = 𝑷𝟐 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝟐 + 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝟐
𝟐 𝟐
𝟏 𝟏
𝟐𝟐𝟎𝒌𝑷𝒂 + (𝟖𝟓𝟎)(𝟐𝟐 ) = 𝑷𝟐 + (𝟖𝟓𝟎)(𝟒𝟐 ) + (𝟖𝟓𝟎)(𝟗. 𝟖)(𝟖. 𝟎 𝒎)
𝟐 𝟐
𝑷𝟐 = 𝟏𝟒𝟕 𝒌𝑷𝒂

4. In the diagram below shown the exit at Y is opened so that Y is

𝑘𝑔
exposed to atmospheric pressure. (𝜌𝑊𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑅 = 1000 𝑚3)
a) Calculate the speed with which the water leaves the exit Y
b) Calculate the pressure at X.

a) The pressures at both at equal to atmospheric pressure. The

velocity at the top can be assumed to be zero.
1 2 1
𝑃𝑇𝑂𝑃 + 𝜌𝑔𝑦𝑇𝑂𝑃 + 𝜌𝑣𝑇𝑂𝑃 = 𝑃𝑌 + 𝑚𝑔𝑦𝑌 + 𝜌𝑣𝑌2
2 2
→ 𝑣𝑦 = √2𝑔𝑦𝑡𝑜𝑝 = √2(10)(220) = 𝟔𝟔 𝒎/𝒔
b) First the velocity at X must be found using continuity:
𝝅(. 𝟏𝟐 𝒎)𝟐 𝒎
𝑨𝒙 𝒗𝒙 = 𝑨𝒚 𝒗𝒚 → 𝒗𝒙 = 𝟐
(𝟔𝟔 ) = 𝟔 𝒎/𝒔
𝝅(. 𝟒 𝒎) 𝒔
Now Bernoulli can be used.
𝟏 𝟏
𝑷𝒙 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝒙 + 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝒙 = 𝑷𝒚 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝒚 + 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝒚
𝟐 𝟐
𝟏 𝟐 𝟏 𝟐
→ 𝑷𝒙 = 𝑷𝒚 + 𝝆𝒗𝒚 − 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝒙 − 𝝆𝒗𝒙
𝟐 𝟐
𝟏 𝒌𝒈 𝒎 𝟐 𝒌𝒈 𝒎 𝟏 𝒌𝒈 𝒎 𝟐
→ 𝑷𝒙 = (𝟏𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝑷𝒂) + (𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟑 ) (𝟔𝟔 ) − (𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟑 ) (𝟏𝟎 𝟐 )(𝟗𝟓 𝒎) − (𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟑 ) (𝟔 )
𝟐 𝒎 𝒔 𝒎 𝒔 𝟐 𝒎 𝒔
→ 𝑷𝒙 =1.3x106 Pa
5. An underground pipe carries water to a fountain at
ground level. At point A, the pipe has a cross-section are
of 1.0x10-4 m2. At ground level, the pipe has a cross-
section area of 0.5x10-4 m2. The water leaves the pipe at
point B at a speed of 8.2 m/s.
a) Calculate the speed of the water at point A.
b) Calculate the absolute pressure in the pipe at
point A.
c) Calculate the maximum height above the ground the water reaches.

a)

b)

c)

6. Water exits a tank horizontally from a hole at a depth d. The water level in the tank
is H and may be considered to be constant. Determine d in terms of H so that the water
lands on the ground at the largest possible distance from the base of the tank.
𝟏
𝝆𝒈𝑯 = 𝝆𝒈(𝑯 − 𝒅) + 𝝆𝒗𝟐 → 𝒗 = √𝟐𝒈𝒅
𝟐
𝟐(𝑯 − 𝒅) 𝟐(𝑯 − 𝒅)
∆𝒙 = 𝒗𝒕 → ∆𝒙 = 𝒗√ =√ √𝟐𝒈𝒅 = √𝟒𝑯𝒅 − 𝟒𝒅𝟐
𝒈 𝒈
𝑯
→𝒅= 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
𝟐
7. Suppose the venturi tube shown is used to measure the flow rate of gasoline
(𝜌 = 700 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 ) through a hose having an outlet radius of 1.20 cm. The inlet tube
has a radius of 2.4 cm The pressure difference is measured to be 𝑃1 − 𝑃2 =1.2 kPa.
a) Calculate the speed of the gasoline as it leaves the hose.
b) Calculate the fluid flow rate.
𝟏 𝟏
a) 𝑷𝟏 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝟏 + 𝟐 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝟏 = 𝑷𝟐 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝟐 + 𝟐 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝟐
Both v1 and v2 are unknown, but they can be related using continuity:
𝑨𝟐 𝒗𝟐 𝝅(.𝟎𝟏𝟐)𝟐
𝑨𝟏 𝒗𝟏 = 𝑨𝟐 𝒗𝟐 → 𝒗𝟏 = = 𝝅(.𝟎𝟐𝟒)𝟐 𝒗𝟐 → 𝒗𝟏 = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟓𝒗𝟐
𝑨𝟏
Back to Bernoulli:
𝟏 𝟏
𝑷𝟏 + 𝟐 𝝆(𝟎. 𝟐𝟓𝒗𝟐 )𝟐 = 𝑷𝟐 + 𝟐 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝟐
𝟏 𝑷𝟏 −𝑷𝟐 𝒎
𝑷𝟏 − 𝑷𝟐 = 𝝆𝟎. 𝟗𝟑𝟕𝟓𝒗𝟐𝟐 → 𝒗𝟐 = √ = 𝟏. 𝟗
𝟐 𝟎.𝟒𝟔𝟖𝟕𝟓𝝆 𝒔
𝒎 𝒎𝟑
b) Flow volume rate, 𝑽′ = 𝑨𝟐 𝒗𝟐 = 𝝅(. 𝟎𝟏𝟐 𝒎)𝟐 (𝟏. 𝟗 ) =. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟗
𝒔 𝒔

8. A pump, submerged at the bottom of a well that is 35 m deep, is used to pump water uphill to a house that is
50 m above the top of the well, as shown. The density of the water is 1,000 kg/m3. All pressures are gauge
pressures and the water can be treated as an ideal water.
a) Residents of the house use 0.35 m3 of water each day. The
day’s pumping is completed in hours each day.
i. Calculate the minimum work required to pump the
water used per day.
ii. Calculate the minimum power rating of the pump.
b) The average pressure the pump actually produces is
9.20𝑥105 𝑁/𝑚2 . Within the well the water flows at 0.50
m/s and the pipe has a diameter of 3.0 cm. At the house
the pipe diameter is 1.25 cm.
i. Calculate the flow velocity when a faucet in the
house is open.
ii. Calculate the minimum pressure at the faucet.
a)i.

ii.

b)i.
 𝟏 𝟏
𝑷𝟏 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝟏 + 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝟏 = 𝑷𝟐 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝟐 + 𝝆𝒗𝟐𝟐
𝟐 𝟐
𝟏 𝟐 𝟏 𝟐
→ 𝑃2 = 𝑷𝟏 + 𝝆𝒗𝟏 − 𝝆𝒈𝒚𝟐 − 𝝆𝒗𝟐
𝟐 𝟐
1 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔 𝑚
→ 𝑃2 = (9.20𝑥105 𝑃𝑎) + (1000 3 ) (0.52 − 2.882 ) − (1000 3 ) (10 2 ) (85 𝑚) = 6.6𝑥104 𝑃𝑎
2 𝑚 𝑚 𝑠

9. A Pitot-Prandtl tube is used to measure the speed of an aircraft. The liquid in

left-hand column has a density of 𝜌. The difference in the liquids levels is ℎ.
a) Explain why the liquid in the right-hand column is lower than in the
left-hand column.
2𝜌𝑔ℎ
b) Show the that the flow speed is given by 𝑣 = 𝜌
𝑎𝑖𝑟
a) The right hand column has a fluid flowing at a fast rate, which
causes less pressure, and a lower water level.
1 1
b) 𝑃𝐿 + 2 𝜌𝑣𝐿2 + 𝜌𝑔ℎ = 𝑃𝑅 + 2 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑣 2 + 𝜌𝑔𝑦𝑅
2𝜌𝑔ℎ
→𝑣=
𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟

*10. Water comes out of a tap of cross-sectional area 1.4 cm2. After falling a vertical distance of 5.0 cm, the
cross-sectional area of the water column has been reduced to 0.60 cm2. Calculate the volume of water per
second delivered by the tap.
𝑶𝑴𝑮 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔: 𝒗𝟐𝒇 = 𝒗𝟐𝒊 + 𝟐𝒈∆𝒚 → 𝒗𝒇 = √𝒗𝟐𝒊 + 𝟐𝒈∆𝒚
𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚: 𝑨𝒊 𝒗𝒊 = 𝑨𝒇 𝒗𝒇
𝟐𝑨𝟐𝒇 𝒈𝒉
𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒉: 𝑨𝒊 𝒗𝒊 = 𝑨𝒇 √𝒗𝟐𝒊 + 𝟐𝒈∆𝒚 → 𝒗𝒊 = √𝑨𝟐 −𝑨𝟐 =.47 m/s
𝒊 𝒇

That was probably overkill: 𝑽 = 𝑨𝒗 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝒌𝒈/𝒎𝟑

′