A cylindrical container of cross-sectional area is sealed by a frictionless

PHYSICS · Subjective · AP · Physics 1: Algebra-based · Fluids · Fluids

Problem

A cylindrical container of cross-sectional area

3.0\times10^{-3}\,\text{m}^2

is sealed by a frictionless, flat piston of mass 2.5 kg. Beneath the piston are two immiscible layers: 0.12 m of mineral oil (

\rho=850\,\text{kg\,m}^{-3}

) floating on 0.25 m of glycerin (

\rho=1260\,\text{kg\,m}^{-3}

). The outside air is at

1.01\times10^{5}\,\text{Pa}

, and

g=9.8\,\text{m\,s}^{-2}

. Calculate the absolute pressure at the bottom of the glycerin layer.