Skip to main content
Ch 14: Fluids and Elasticity
Chapter 14, Problem 14

A water tank of height h has a small hole at height y. The water is replenished to keep h from changing. The water squirting from the hole has range 𝓍. The range approaches zero as y β†’ 0 because the water squirts right onto the ground. The range also approaches zero as y β†’ h because the horizontal velocity becomes zero. Thus there must be some height y between 0 and h for which the range is a maximum. (a) Find an algebraic expression for the flow speed v with which the water exits the hole at height y.

Verified Solution

Video duration:
8m
This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Bernoulli's Principle

Bernoulli's Principle states that in a flowing fluid, an increase in the fluid's speed occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or potential energy. This principle is crucial for understanding how the speed of water exiting a hole in a tank is influenced by the height of the water column above the hole, as the potential energy converts into kinetic energy.
Recommended video:
Guided course
14:47
Diffraction with Huygen's Principle

Torricelli's Law

Torricelli's Law is derived from Bernoulli's Principle and states that the speed of efflux of a fluid under the force of gravity through an orifice is proportional to the square root of the height of the fluid above the orifice. This law provides the mathematical foundation to calculate the flow speed v of water exiting the hole at height y.
Recommended video:

Projectile Motion

Projectile motion refers to the motion of an object that is thrown or projected into the air, subject only to the acceleration of gravity. In this context, understanding projectile motion is essential for analyzing the range 𝓍 of the water squirting from the hole, as it determines how far the water travels horizontally before hitting the ground, depending on its initial velocity and the angle of exit.
Recommended video:
Guided course
04:44
Introduction to Projectile Motion
Related Practice
Textbook Question
A 5.0-m-diameter solid aluminum sphere is launched into space. By how much does its diameter increase? Give your answer in ΞΌm.
664
views
Textbook Question
One day when you come into physics lab you find several plastic hemispheres floating like boats in a tank of fresh water. Each lab group is challenged to determine the heaviest rock that can be placed in the bottom of a plastic boat without sinking it. You get one try. Sinking the boat gets you no points, and the maximum number of points goes to the group that can place the heaviest rock without sinking. You begin by measuring one of the hemispheres, finding that it has a mass of 21 g and a diameter of 8.0 cm. What is the mass of the heaviest rock that, in perfectly still water, won't sink the plastic boat?
495
views
Textbook Question
20Β°C water flows at 1.5 m/s through a 10-m-long, 1.0-mm-diameter horizontal tube and then exits into the air. What is the gauge pressure in kPa at the point where the water enters the tube?
457
views
Textbook Question
(a) A cylindrical tank of radius 𝑅, filled to the top with a liquid, has a small hole in the side, of radius 𝓇, at distance d below the surface. Find an expression for the volume flow rate through the hole.
1024
views
Textbook Question
What is the minimum hose diameter of an ideal vacuum cleaner that could lift a 10 kg (22 lb) dog off the floor?
448
views
Textbook Question
When a second student joins the first, the piston sinks . What is the second student's mass?

410
views