Determine the force exerted by the water on a 2 m ^2 plane surface of a large stone situated at the bottom of a sea 500 m deep. Does the force depend on the orientation of the surface?

Step-by-step solution

The pressure at a depth h in a fluid is given by P = g h . Substituting the given values, P = 1000 10 500 = 5 10^6 N/m ^2 . The magnitude of the force exerted on the surface is F = P A . F = 5 10^6 2 = 10^7 N . Since pressure in a fluid at rest is isotropic (acts equally in all directions), the magnitude of the force depends only on the depth and the area of the surface. It does not depend on the orientation of the surface.