Final answer:
The bulk strain in a hydraulic press is calculated as the change in volume divided by the original volume, and the absolute decrease in volume is determined using the compressibility of oil, the pressure increase, and the initial volume of the oil.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the bulk strain and the absolute decrease in volume due to the pressure increase in an hydraulic press, we use the formula for bulk strain which is the change in volume (ΔV) divided by the original volume (V0). The change in volume can be expressed in terms of the compressibility of oil (β), the increase in pressure (ΔP), and the original volume using the formula ΔV = -βΔPV0. Here, compressibility (β) of oil is given as 2.0 × 10-5/atm and since 1 atm is equivalent to approximately 14.7 psi, we first convert the pressure increase from psi to atm by dividing 2300 psi by 14.7 which gives us the pressure in atm.
Once we have the pressure in the correct units, we multiply the compressibility by this pressure and the original volume (250 liters) to find the change in volume. The bulk strain is then this change in volume divided by the initial volume, while the absolute decrease in volume is the magnitude of the change in volume.