3. Sooner or later, every kid tries to breathe underwaterby sucking air through

Question

3. Sooner or later, every kid tries to breathe underwaterby sucking air through a garden hose. Willie did justthat. He put the hose into his mouth, swam to the bottom ofthe pool, kept himself there by holding onto the drain grate, anddiscovered that he couldn't inhale any air at all. He came tothe top, coughing and sputtering, and told his amused father theresult of his experiment. "It's no wonder," his Dad said."You had a ton of water pressure on your chest."

Let's calculate exactly how much force Willie DID have onhis chest. The pool is 1.5 m deep. Willie'scardiothoracic cavity, the part of his torso containing his heartand lungs, has an external area of 0.2 m2. Whatwas the total pressure, in Newtons, squeezing on his lungs? (WARNING: Due to the possibility of pulmonary hemorrhage,chipped teeth, tongue-sucked-into-hose and other unpleasantoutcomes, you should NOT try Willie's experimentyourself.)

Explanation / Answer

Given that        d = 1.5 m        A = 0.2 m2 We know that P = g d Therefore   F = P * A                        = g d A    = 1000 * 9.8 * 1.5 * 0.2    = 2940 N

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