Review. To measure how far below the ocean surface a bird...

Review. To measure how far below the ocean surface a bird dives to catch a fish, a scientist uses a method originated by Lord Kelvin. He dusts the interiors of plastic tubes with powdered sugar and then seals one end of each tube. He captures the bird at nighttime in its nest and attaches a tube to its back. He then catches the same bird the next night and removes the tube. In one trial, using a tube 6.50 cm long, water washes away the sugar over a distance of 2.70 cm from the open end of the tube. Find the greatest depth to which the bird dived, assuming the air in the tube stayed at constant temperature.

Labs

Want to see this concept in action?

NEW

Explore this concept interactively to see how it behaves as you change inputs.

View Labs

Key Concepts

Boyle's Law

Boyle's Law describes the inverse relationship between the pressure and volume of a gas when temperature remains constant. In any sealed or partially sealed container, if gas is compressed (reducing its volume), its pressure increases proportionally, and vice versa. This principle is key to understanding how a change in the volume of the air trapped in a tube can be used to measure a corresponding change in pressure due to an external force, such as water pressure from diving.

Hydrostatic Pressure

Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure exerted by a fluid at rest due to the weight of the fluid above a given point. This pressure increases linearly with depth and can be expressed mathematically by P = P_atm + ?gh, where P_atm is atmospheric pressure, ? is the density of the fluid, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h represents the depth of the fluid. This concept is used to relate the external water pressure experienced during a dive to changes observed in the volume of gas under pressure in a measurement device.

Transcript

Please give Ace some feedback