AP®PhysicsCollege BoardPhysics 1: Algebra-BasedExam QuestionsUnit 8: FluidsDensity & Pressure

Density & Pressure (College Board AP® Physics 1: Algebra-Based)

Exam Questions

5 mins5 questions
1
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A vase floats with its lower section in water and its upper section in oil. The distance from the top of the vase to the oil-water interface is labeled x. The surface on the bottom of the vase, in water, is labeled S. The water has density 1000 kg / m^3, the oil has density 500 kg / m^3. The height of the oil is 3.3 m and the height of the water is 6.7 m. Outside the tank, the atmosphere is labeled sea level atmosphere.

A 2.0 m tall vase floats at an interface between oil and water in a large tank, as shown in the figure. The height of oil above the water is 3.3 m and the height of the vase above the water is x. The density of the oil is 800 kg/m3 and the density of the water is 1000 kg/m3.

If the pressure at the lower surface S of the vase is 144 kPa, which of the following is most nearly the value of x?

  • 0.12 space straight m

  • 0.24 space straight m

  • 1.2 space straight m

  • 1.8 space straight m

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2
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A tank is filled to the top with oil of density 780 kg/m3 and then placed in a vacuum. The tank has a width of 0.25 m, a length of 30 m, and a depth of 4.6 m.

Which of the following is most nearly the pressure halfway down the depth of the tank?

  • 18 kPa

  • 35 kPa

  • 120 kPa

  • 300 kPa

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31 mark

A sample of oil in a cylindrical container is placed on a mass balance. The cylinder has a mass of 125 g and a radius of 4.2 cm. There is a bubble with a radius of 3.0 cm midway up the cylinder of oil. The reading on the balance is 1.0 kg and the oil fills the measuring cylinder up to a height of 25 cm.

Which of the following is the closest match to the density of the oil?

  • 600 kg/m3

  • 700 kg/m3

  • 900 kg/m3

  • 1000 kg/m3

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4
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Anglerfish can live at a depth of 800 m below the surface of the ocean.

Which of the following is most nearly the number of atmospheres of pressure an anglerfish experiences at this depth?

  • 10

  • 50

  • 60

  • 80

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5
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Two identical tanks filled to the top with water contain a ball bearing. Each ball bearing experiences the same absolute pressure. One tank is at an altitude of 1 km, where atmospheric pressure is 0.88 P subscript a t m end subscript, and the other tank is at sea level.

Which of the following is most nearly the difference between the depths of the ball bearings?

  • 1.2 ×10−5 m

  • 1.2 m

  • 5.3 m

  • 19 m

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