| Step | Derivation or Formula | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | \[ F_{\text{out}} = m \cdot g \] | Calculate the weight of the car where \( m = 1200 \) kg and \( g \approx 9.8 \) m/s\(^{2}\). |
| 2 | \[ F_{\text{out}} = 1200 \times 9.8 = 11760 \, \text{N} \] | Substitute the values into the weight formula to find the force on the output piston. |
| 3 | \[ \frac{F_{\text{in}}}{A_{\text{in}}} = \frac{F_{\text{out}}}{A_{\text{out}}} \] | Apply Pascal’s Principle which states that the pressure is constant throughout the hydraulic system. |
| 4 | \[ F_{\text{in}} = \frac{A_{\text{in}}}{A_{\text{out}}} \cdot F_{\text{out}} \] | Rearrange the pressure equality to solve for the input force \( F_{\text{in}} \). |
| 5 | \[ F_{\text{in}} = \frac{12.0}{700} \times 11760 \] | Substitute the areas \( A_{\text{in}} = 12.0 \) cm\(^{2}\) and \( A_{\text{out}} = 700 \) cm\(^{2}\) along with \( F_{\text{out}} \) into the formula. Note: Since the areas are given in the same units, the ratio is unitless. |
| 6 | \[ F_{\text{in}} = \left( \frac{12.0}{700} \right) \times 11760 \approx 201.6 \, \text{N} \] | Perform the multiplication to calculate the force required on the input piston. |
| 7 | \[ \boxed{F_{\text{in}} \approx 202 \, \text{N}} \] | Round the result to three significant figures to get the final answer. |
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.
The figure above shows a portion of a conduit for water, one with rectangular cross sections. If the flow speed at the top is \( v \), what is the flow speed at the bottom?
Find the approximate minimum mass needed for a spherical ball with a \(40\) \(\text{cm}\) radius to sink in a liquid of density \(1.4 \times 10^3\) \(\text{kg/m}^3\). Use \(9.8 \text{m/s}^2\) for \(g\).
The large piston in a hydraulic lift has a radius of \( 250 \) \( \text{cm}^2 \). What force must be applied to the small piston with a radius of \( 25 \) \( \text{cm}^2 \) in order to raise a car of mass \( 1500 \) \( \text{kg} \)?
Johnny the auto mechanic is raising a \( 1200 \) \( \text{kg} \) car on her hydraulic lift so that she can work underneath. If the area of the input piston is \( 12 \) \( \text{cm}^2 \), while the output piston has an area of \( 700 \) \( \text{cm}^2 \), what force must be exerted on the input piston to lift the car?
The drawing above shows a spherical reservoir that contains \( 455,000 \) \( \text{kg} \) of water when full. The reservoir is vented to the atmosphere at the top. Assuming the reservoir is full and the diameter of the reservoir is much larger than any of the pipes on the ground.
How large must a heating duct be if air moving \( 3 \ \frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}} \) along it can replenish the air in a room of \( 300 \ \text{m}^3 \) volume every \( 15 \) minutes? Assume the air’s density remains constant.
A student designs an experiment to determine the density of an unknown fluid. The student pours the fluid into a graduated cylinder and attaches an object to a force probe. The object has a density greater than the density of the fluid. The student partially submerges the object into the fluid and records both the volume of fluid displaced in the graduated cylinder and the reading on the force probe. The student then submerges the object further and, at each trial, records the new values of displaced volume and force probe reading until the object is fully submerged. The student constructs a graph of force probe reading (vertical axis) as a function of volume of fluid displaced (horizontal axis). Which of the following statements correctly describes how a feature of this graph is related to the density of the fluid?
A geologist suspects that her rock specimen is hollow, so she weighs the specimen in both air and water. When completely submerged, the rock weighs twice as much in air as it does in water.
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 beaker weighing \( 2.0 \) \( \text{N} \) is filled with \( 5.0 \times 10^{-3} \) \( \text{m}^3 \) of water. A rubber ball weighing \( 3.0 \) \( \text{N} \) is held entirely underwater by a massless string attached to the bottom of the beaker, as represented in the figure above. The tension in the string is \( 4.0 \) \( \text{N} \). The water fills the beaker to a depth of \( 0.20 \) \( \text{m} \). Water has a density of \( 1000 \) \( \text{kg/m}^3 \). The effects of atmospheric pressure may be neglected.
\(202 \text{ N}\)
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] | |
Nano- | n | [katex]10^{-9}[/katex] | |
Micro- | µ | [katex]10^{-6}[/katex] | |
Milli- | m | [katex]10^{-3}[/katex] | |
Centi- | c | [katex]10^{-2}[/katex] | |
Deci- | d | [katex]10^{-1}[/katex] | |
(Base unit) | – | [katex]10^{0}[/katex] | |
Deca- or Deka- | da | [katex]10^{1}[/katex] | |
Hecto- | h | [katex]10^{2}[/katex] | |
Kilo- | k | [katex]10^{3}[/katex] | |
Mega- | M | [katex]10^{6}[/katex] | |
Giga- | G | [katex]10^{9}[/katex] | |
Tera- | T | [katex]10^{12}[/katex] |
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.
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
