| Step | Derivation/Formula | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | \(A_1 v_1 = A_2 v_2\) | Use the principle of continuity for fluid flow, which states that the product of cross-sectional area and flow speed must remain constant for an incompressible fluid in a tube with varying diameter. |
| 2 | \(A = \pi \left(\frac{d}{2}\right)^2\) | Calculate the cross-sectional area of a circular section of the pipe using the diameter \(d\). |
| 3 | \(A_1 = \pi \left(\frac{2}{2}\right)^2 = \pi (1)^2 = \pi\) \(\text{cm}^2\) | Substitute \(d_1 = 2\) cm into the area formula to find the cross-sectional area at the first point. |
| 4 | \(A_2 = \pi \left(\frac{3}{2}\right)^2 = \pi \left(\frac{9}{4}\right)\) \(\text{cm}^2\) | Substitute \(d_2 = 3\) cm into the area formula to find the cross-sectional area at the second point. |
| 5 | \(\pi v_1 = \frac{\pi (9/4)}{\pi} v_2\) | Substitute the cross-sectional areas into the continuity equation. The factor of \(\pi\) cancels out on both sides. |
| 6 | \(v_2 = v_1 \frac{4}{9}\) | Solve for \(v_2\) by isolating it on one side of the equation. |
| 7 | \(v_2 = 18 \times \frac{4}{9} = 8\) \(\text{m/s}\) | Substitute \(v_1 = 18\) \(\text{m/s}\) into the equation to calculate \(v_2\). |
| 8 | \(v_2 = 8\) \(\text{m/s}\) | The flow speed at the second point is \(8\) \(\text{m/s}\). |
The correct answer is (c) \( 8 \text{ m/s} \).
A Major Upgrade To Phy Is Coming Soon — Stay Tuned
We'll help clarify entire units in one hour or less — guaranteed.
A self paced course with videos, problems sets, and everything you need to get a 5. Trusted by over 15k students and over 200 schools.
Ben’s favorite ride at the Barrel-O-Fun Amusement Park is the Flying Umbrella, which is lifted by a hydraulic jack. The operator activates the ride by applying a force of \( 72 \) \( \text{N} \) to a \( 3.0 \) \( \text{cm} \) wide cylindrical piston, which holds the \( 20,000 \) \( \text{N} \) ride off the ground. What is the diameter of the piston that holds the ride?
A solid plastic cube with uniform density (side length = \(0.5\) \(\text{m}\)) of mass \(100\) \(\text{kg}\) is placed in a vat of fluid whose density is \(1200\) \(\text{kg/m}^3\). What fraction of the cube’s volume floats above the surface of the fluid?

The radius of the left piston is \( 0.12 \) \( \text{m} \) and the radius of the right piston is \( 0.65 \) \( \text{m} \). If \( f \) were raised by \( 14 \) \( \text{N} \), how much would \( F \) need to be increased to maintain equilibrium?

An object is suspended from a spring scale first in air, then in water, as shown in the figure above. The spring scale reading in air is \( 17.8 \) \( \text{N} \), and the spring scale reading when the object is completely submerged in water is \( 16.2 \) \( \text{N} \). The density of water is \( 1000 \) \( \text{kg/m}^3 \).
A sample of an unknown material appears to weigh \( 285 \) \( \text{N} \) in air and \( 195 \) \( \text{N} \) when immersed in alcohol of specific gravity \( 0.700 \).
A cylindrical tank of water (height \( H \)) is punctured at a height \( h \) above the bottom. How far from the base of the tank will the water stream land (in terms of \( h \) and \( H \))? What must the value of \( h \) be such that the distance at which the stream lands will be equal to \( H \)?
Two objects labeled K and L have equal mass but densities \( 0.95D_o \) and \( D_o \), respectively. Each of these objects floats after being thrown into a deep swimming pool. Which is true about the buoyant forces acting on these objects?
A sphere of mass \(0.5\) \(\text{kg}\) is dropped into a column of oil. At the instant the sphere becomes completely submerged in the oil, the sphere is moving downward at \(8\) \(\text{m/s}\), the buoyancy force on the sphere is \(4.0\) \(\text{N}\), and the fluid frictional force is \(4.0\) \(\text{N}\). Which of the following describes the motion of the sphere at this instant?
In the lab, a student is given a glass beaker filled with water with an ice cube of mass \( m \) and volume \( V_c \) floating in it.
The downward force of gravity on the ice cube has magnitude \( F_g \). The student pushes down on the ice cube with a force of magnitude \( F_P \) so that the cube is totally submerged. The water then exerts an upward buoyant force on the ice cube of magnitude \( F_B \). Which of the following is an expression for the magnitude of the acceleration of the ice cube when it is released?

Water flows from point \( A \) to points \( D \) and \( E \) as shown. Some of the flow parameters are known, as shown in the table. Determine the unknown parameters. Note the diagram above does not show the relative diameters of each section of the pipe.
| Section | Diameter | Flow Rate | Velocity |
|---|---|---|---|
| \( \text{AB} \) | \( 300 \) \( \text{mm} \) | \(\textbf{?}\) | \(\textbf{?}\) |
| \( \text{BC} \) | \( 600 \) \( \text{mm} \) | \(\textbf{?}\) | \( 1.2 \) \( \text{m/s} \) |
| \( \text{CD} \) | \(\textbf{?}\) | \( Q_{CD} = 2Q_{CE} \) \( \text{m}^3/\text{s} \) | \( 1.4 \) \( \text{m/s} \) |
| \( \text{CE} \) | \( 150 \) \( \text{mm} \) | \( Q_{CE} = 0.5Q_{CD} \) \( \text{m}^3/\text{s} \) | \(\textbf{?}\) |
By continuing you (1) agree to our Terms of Use and Terms of Sale and (2) consent to sharing your IP and browser information used by this site’s security protocols as outlined in our Privacy Policy.
| Kinematics | Forces |
|---|---|
| \(\Delta x = v_i t + \frac{1}{2} at^2\) | \(F = ma\) |
| \(v = v_i + at\) | \(F_g = \frac{G m_1 m_2}{r^2}\) |
| \(v^2 = v_i^2 + 2a \Delta x\) | \(f = \mu N\) |
| \(\Delta x = \frac{v_i + v}{2} t\) | \(F_s =-kx\) |
| \(v^2 = v_f^2 \,-\, 2a \Delta x\) |
| Circular Motion | Energy |
|---|---|
| \(F_c = \frac{mv^2}{r}\) | \(KE = \frac{1}{2} mv^2\) |
| \(a_c = \frac{v^2}{r}\) | \(PE = mgh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{r}{g}}\) | \(KE_i + PE_i = KE_f + PE_f\) |
| \(W = Fd \cos\theta\) |
| Momentum | Torque and Rotations |
|---|---|
| \(p = mv\) | \(\tau = r \cdot F \cdot \sin(\theta)\) |
| \(J = \Delta p\) | \(I = \sum mr^2\) |
| \(p_i = p_f\) | \(L = I \cdot \omega\) |
| Simple Harmonic Motion | Fluids |
|---|---|
| \(F = -kx\) | \(P = \frac{F}{A}\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{l}{g}}\) | \(P_{\text{total}} = P_{\text{atm}} + \rho gh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{m}{k}}\) | \(Q = Av\) |
| \(x(t) = A \cos(\omega t + \phi)\) | \(F_b = \rho V g\) |
| \(a = -\omega^2 x\) | \(A_1v_1 = A_2v_2\) |
| Constant | Description |
|---|---|
| [katex]g[/katex] | Acceleration due to gravity, typically [katex]9.8 , \text{m/s}^2[/katex] on Earth’s surface |
| [katex]G[/katex] | Universal Gravitational Constant, [katex]6.674 \times 10^{-11} , \text{N} \cdot \text{m}^2/\text{kg}^2[/katex] |
| [katex]\mu_k[/katex] and [katex]\mu_s[/katex] | Coefficients of kinetic ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) and static ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) friction, dimensionless. Static friction ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) is usually greater than kinetic friction ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) as it resists the start of motion. |
| [katex]k[/katex] | Spring constant, in [katex]\text{N/m}[/katex] |
| [katex] M_E = 5.972 \times 10^{24} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Earth |
| [katex] M_M = 7.348 \times 10^{22} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Moon |
| [katex] M_M = 1.989 \times 10^{30} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Sun |
| Variable | SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]s[/katex] (Displacement) | [katex]\text{meters (m)}[/katex] |
| [katex]v[/katex] (Velocity) | [katex]\text{meters per second (m/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]a[/katex] (Acceleration) | [katex]\text{meters per second squared (m/s}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]t[/katex] (Time) | [katex]\text{seconds (s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]m[/katex] (Mass) | [katex]\text{kilograms (kg)}[/katex] |
| Variable | Derived SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]F[/katex] (Force) | [katex]\text{newtons (N)}[/katex] |
| [katex]E[/katex], [katex]PE[/katex], [katex]KE[/katex] (Energy, Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy) | [katex]\text{joules (J)}[/katex] |
| [katex]P[/katex] (Power) | [katex]\text{watts (W)}[/katex] |
| [katex]p[/katex] (Momentum) | [katex]\text{kilogram meters per second (kgm/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\omega[/katex] (Angular Velocity) | [katex]\text{radians per second (rad/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\tau[/katex] (Torque) | [katex]\text{newton meters (Nm)}[/katex] |
| [katex]I[/katex] (Moment of Inertia) | [katex]\text{kilogram meter squared (kgm}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]f[/katex] (Frequency) | [katex]\text{hertz (Hz)}[/katex] |
Metric Prefixes
Example of using unit analysis: Convert 5 kilometers to millimeters.
Start with the given measurement: [katex]\text{5 km}[/katex]
Use the conversion factors for kilometers to meters and meters to millimeters: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}}[/katex]
Perform the multiplication: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}} = 5 \times 10^3 \times 10^3 \, \text{mm}[/katex]
Simplify to get the final answer: [katex]\boxed{5 \times 10^6 \, \text{mm}}[/katex]
Prefix | Symbol | Power of Ten | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
Pico- | p | [katex]10^{-12}[/katex] | 0.000000000001 |
Nano- | n | [katex]10^{-9}[/katex] | 0.000000001 |
Micro- | µ | [katex]10^{-6}[/katex] | 0.000001 |
Milli- | m | [katex]10^{-3}[/katex] | 0.001 |
Centi- | c | [katex]10^{-2}[/katex] | 0.01 |
Deci- | d | [katex]10^{-1}[/katex] | 0.1 |
(Base unit) | – | [katex]10^{0}[/katex] | 1 |
Deca- or Deka- | da | [katex]10^{1}[/katex] | 10 |
Hecto- | h | [katex]10^{2}[/katex] | 100 |
Kilo- | k | [katex]10^{3}[/katex] | 1,000 |
Mega- | M | [katex]10^{6}[/katex] | 1,000,000 |
Giga- | G | [katex]10^{9}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000 |
Tera- | T | [katex]10^{12}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000,000 |
One price to unlock most advanced version of Phy across all our tools.
per month
Billed Monthly. Cancel Anytime.
We crafted THE Ultimate A.P Physics 1 Program so you can learn faster and score higher.
Try our free calculator to see what you need to get a 5 on the 2026 AP Physics 1 exam.
A quick explanation
Credits are used to grade your FRQs and GQs. Pro users get unlimited credits.
Submitting counts as 1 attempt.
Viewing answers or explanations count as a failed attempts.
Phy gives partial credit if needed
MCQs and GQs are are 1 point each. FRQs will state points for each part.
Phy customizes problem explanations based on what you struggle with. Just hit the explanation button to see.
Understand you mistakes quicker.
Phy automatically provides feedback so you can improve your responses.
10 Free Credits To Get You Started
By continuing you agree to nerd-notes.com Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and our usage of user data.
Feeling uneasy about your next physics test? We'll boost your grade in 3 lessons or less—guaranteed
NEW! PHY AI accurately solves all questions
🔥 Get up to 30% off Elite Physics Tutoring
🧠 NEW! Learn Physics From Scratch Self Paced Course
🎯 Need exam style practice questions?