Final answer:
The height of the fluid column in a barometer depends on the liquid used and the atmospheric pressure. For mercury, the height would be 0.745 meters, for water it would be 1402 meters, and for ethyl alcohol, it would depend on the density of the liquid.
Step-by-step explanation:
The height of the fluid column in a barometer depends on the liquid used and the atmospheric pressure. To determine the height, we need to consider both the density of the liquid and the atmospheric pressure.
(a) For mercury:
Mercury is about 13.6 times denser than water, so a mercury barometer only needs to be 1/13.6 times the height of a water barometer. With an atmospheric pressure of 101 kPa, the height of the mercury column would be:
Height in meters = Atmospheric pressure (in kPa) / (Density of mercury * Acceleration due to gravity)
Height in meters = 101 / (13.6 * 9.8) = 0.745 m
(b) For water:
A water barometer would have a height of 10 meters for normal atmospheric pressure. Since the density of water is 13.6 times less than mercury, the height of the water column would be:
Height in meters = Atmospheric pressure (in kPa) / (Density of water * Acceleration due to gravity)
Height in meters = 101 / (1/13.6 * 9.8) = 1402 m
(c) For ethyl alcohol:
The density of ethyl alcohol is less than that of water, so the height of the fluid column in an ethyl alcohol barometer
would be higher than that of a water barometer. The exact calculation would depend on the density of ethyl alcohol, which is not provided in the question.