Question

A glass column is filled with mercury and inverted in a pool of mercury. The mercury column stabilizes at a

height of 687 mm above the pool of mercury (Hg). What is the pressure of the atmosphere around the pool
in atmospheres (atm)?

Answer 1

Answer:The height of the mercury column is a measure of the atmospheric pressure pushing down on the pool of mercury. The pressure of the atmosphere can be calculated using the equation:

P = ρgh

where P is the pressure in Pascals (Pa), ρ is the density of mercury (13,595 kg/m³), g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s²), and h is the height of the mercury column (687 mm = 0.687 m).

First, we need to convert the density of mercury from kg/m³ to g/cm³ to match the units of the height:

ρ = 13,595 kg/m³ = 13.595 g/cm³

Now we can plug in the values and solve for P:

P = ρgh

P = (13.595 g/cm³) x (9.81 m/s²) x (0.687 m)

P = 101,325 Pa

Finally, we can convert the pressure from Pascals to atmospheres:

1 atm = 101,325 Pa

P(atm) = P(Pa) / 101,325 Pa/atm

P(atm) = 101,325 Pa / 101,325 Pa/atm

P(atm) = 1 atm

Therefore, the pressure of the atmosphere around the pool of mercury is 1 atmosphere (atm).

Step-by-step explanation: