The speed of water moving through a turbine is 2.5 m/s. Show that the mass of water passing through an area of 500 metres squared in one second is about 1 x 10^6 kg (density of sea water = 1030 kg/m^3)

This is a past exam question from an A level paper for OCR Physics B.We know that in one second, a volume of water (V), travelling at 2.5 m/s is passing through an area of 500 metres squared in one second. This volume can be represented as a column, with the cross section (area at the front) equal to the area the water is passing through, so 500 metres squared. Since we know that v=s/t, we can rearrange this to get s=vt meaning that in one second, all the water molecules travel v.t metres of 2.5 x 1 = 2.5 metres. This gives us our bottom side for our column, giving us a total volume of V=Al = 500 x 2.5 = 1250 metres cubed.So we now have the volume (V) and the density (ρ) but want to find the mass (m) which are all linked in the equation ρ=m/V which when rearranged gives m=ρV giving us an answer of m=1030 x 1250 = 1,287,500 kg which we can say is roughly equal to 1 x 10^6 kg

Answered by Catherine H. Physics tutor

4878 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

What is a vector quantity


Give an example of 3 different types of radiation stating their make up, penetration and ionising effect.


A ball with radius 10cm is filled with an ideal gas at pressure 2*(10)^5Pa and temperature 300K. The volume of the gas is changed at constant pressure so that the radius of the ball is reduced with 1cm. Find the amount of gas and the new temperature


An ideal gas undergoes a transformation in which both its pressure and volume double. How many times does the root mean square speed of the gas molecules increase?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences