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Air passes over the top of an airplane

wing at 170 m/s, and over the bottom

at 130 m/s. What is the difference in

pressure between the top and

bottom of the wing?

User Dmityugov
by
7.2k points

1 Answer

6 votes

Final answer:

The difference in pressure between the top and bottom of an airplane wing can be calculated using Bernoulli's principle and the given air velocities. Applying the formula, we can determine the difference in pressure based on the airspeed over the wing surfaces.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to find the difference in pressure between the top and bottom of the wing, we can apply Bernoulli's principle. Bernoulli's principle states that as the velocity of a fluid (in this case, air) increases, the pressure decreases. Therefore, the difference in pressure between the top and bottom of the wing is caused by the difference in airspeed.

The formula to calculate the difference in pressure is:

ΔP = ½ ρ vtop2 - ½ ρ vbottom2

Where ΔP is the difference in pressure, ρ is the air density, and vtop and vbottom are the air velocities over the top and bottom of the wing, respectively.

Using the given values of vtop = 170 m/s and vbottom = 130 m/s, and the air density of 1.29 kg/m³, we can calculate the difference in pressure:

ΔP = ½ (1.29 kg/m³) (170 m/s)2 - ½ (1.29 kg/m³) (130 m/s)2

Calculating this expression gives us the difference in pressure between the top and bottom of the wing.

User JoshRivers
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