Answer:
- second option: proportional to depth; proportional to density
Step-by-step explanation:
The pressure exerted by a liquid is equal to the pressure inside the liquid. This pressure is called hydrostatic pressure.
The equation to calculate the pressure inside a liquid (a fluid in general) is found by applying balance of forces inside a portion of liquid.
The equilibrium condition (net force = 0) and the definition of pressure (P = F/A) leads to:
- P = p⁰ + ρ . g . Δh, or ΔP = ρ . g . Δh
Where, P is the pressure exerted by the liquid, p⁰ is the atmospheric pressure, ΔP is the difference in the pressure, ρ is the density of the liquid, g is the acceleration of gravity, and Δh is the change with depth.
Hence, the pressure exerted by a liquid varies jointly with the density of the liquid and the depth, meaning that it is proportional to the product of them both.
Therefore, the choice that represents this conditon is the second one: the pressure exerted by a liquid changes proportional to the depth and proportional to the density changes.