Corn syrup is sometimes used as a working fluid in low-pressure, laboratory-scale hydraulic demonstrations. Before adopting it for quantitative experiments, a physics student decides to investigate whether the syrup can be treated as an ideal (incompressible, non-viscous) fluid over the pressure range 0 to 5 MPa.
The student has access to:
• A precision syringe fitted with a pressure gauge and screw plunger
• A laboratory balance capable of measuring mass to the nearest 0.1 g
• Calipers for measuring the internal dimensions of the syringe barrel
• Safety equipment and standard lab materials (thermometer, stopwatch, etc.)
Design an experimental procedure that will allow the student to assess the validity of the ideal-fluid model for corn syrup under the stated conditions.
(a) Identify the specific physical quantities the student must measure in order to determine whether corn syrup remains incompressible and whether its viscosity can be neglected.
(b) Outline a step-by-step procedure—clearly indicating controls and repeated trials—that uses the available equipment to obtain the required measurements.
(c) Describe the data analysis the student should perform to decide whether the incompressible-fluid assumption is justified over the 0 to 5 MPa range.
(d) Discuss two potential sources of systematic error in the experiment and propose a method to reduce or account for each.