A U-tube contains water and methylated spirit separated by mercury. The mercury columns in the two arms are in level with 10.0 cm of water in one arm and 12.5 cm of spirit in the other. What is the specific gravity of spirit?
Height of the spirit column, h1=12.5cm=0.125m Height of the water column, h2=10cm=0.1m Po = Atmospheric pressure ρ1 = Density of spirit ρ2 = Density of water Pressure at point B = P0+ρ1h1g Pressure at point D =P0+ρ2h2g Pressure at points B and D is the same. Po+ρ1h1g = Po + ρ2h2g ρ1/ρ2=h2/h1 =10/12.5=0.8 Therefore, the specific gravity of spirit is 0.8.
