ENGRD 2210

Fall 2014
Homework 1

Due at 5:00 PM on Friday, September 5
th
in the Upson basement drop box. Only one copy should be
handed in per group.

1. (10 Points) A manometer filled with mercury is used to measure the pressure of an air tank, as
shown below.


a) Assuming that the atmospheric pressure outside the manometer is 101 kPa, what is the
absolute pressure inside the tank if h is measured to be 60 cm? Give this pressure in kPa,
atm, and bar. Assume that the density of mercury is 13.6 g/cm
3
.

b) Suppose that the gauge pressure of the tank is now set to 105 kPa. What will be the
resulting value of h for the manometer?

c) What value of h would appear if the mercury is replaced with water in part b? Briefly discuss
how to choose an appropriate manometer fluid for a given application.











2. (5 points) A piston-cylinder assembly is filled with CO2 and heated using a hot plate. A piston
with a diameter of 10 cm, thickness of 1 cm, and mass of 20 kg is resting on stops, as shown in
the figure below.











a) If the outside atmospheric pressure is 101 kPa, what is the needed absolute pressure of the
carbon dioxide for the piston to be lifted?

b) Suppose that the absolute pressure of the carbon dioxide is increased to 175 kPa. What
minimum additional mass must be added to the top of the piston to ensure that the piston
will not be lifted?
























CO2
Piston
Hot Plate
3. (10 points) The assembly from Problem 2 has been modified as shown below.

(Not to scale)














A second set of stops has been placed 5 cm above the lower set. A spring with a stiffness of
1000 N/m is hanging from the top of the assembly such that the tip of the spring is 2 cm above
the top of the piston at the starting position. The initial pressure of the CO2 is 20 kPa. Assume
that the stops have negligible thickness and that the area above the piston can be treated as a
vacuum.

a) The hot plate is turned on, heating the CO2 very slowly and causing it to expand. What will
be the pressure of the carbon dioxide at the moment the piston reaches the top set of
stops?

b) The gas continues to be heated after reaching the top set of stops. Sketch the expansion of
the carbon dioxide on a p-V diagram for pressures between 20 and 30 kPa. Clearly indicate
the points at which the piston is lifted from the bottom stops, the piston makes initial
contact with the tip of the spring, and the piston reaches the upper stops. Give numeric
values of pressure and volume for each of these points.












Piston
Hot Plate
CO2
6 cm
5 cm
2 cm
1 cm
Beyond the Textbook
4. (10 points) A suction cup handle claims that it has a lifting capacity of 40 pounds with a suction
cup diameter of 5 inches.
http://www.dkhardware.com/product-19198-505-5-heavy-duty-single-vacuum-
cup.html?mr%3atrackingCode=D93F02E3-8B69-E311-98C5-
001B21BCB944&mr%3areferralID=NA
Another, 10 diameter, suction cup claims to support a weight of 200 lbs. Here is a video of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOOrRxx7Nq8
You need to evaluate these claims. But first you need to understand how a suction cup works.

a) Explain how a suction cup works.
i. For the diagram below, list the forces on the system consisting of the block PLUS the
suction cup. Indicate what direction they act. Sketch them on the diagram. You may
neglect the mass of the suction cup itself and of the air between the suction cup and the
block.






ii. Now repeat i, but for the system consisting of only the block.

b) Now estimate the maximum weight that can be lifted by a 5-inch diameter suction cup.
Explain your assumptions.

c) Support or dispute the claim that suction cups pull an adhered object. Explain your
reasoning.

d) Would a suction cup be effective for lifting objects from the bottom of the ocean floor?
Discuss in a few sentences with a brief calculation if desired. (Up to 3 bonus points will be
awarded for exceptional answers.)

Block
Handle
Suction Cup