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stunner5000pt
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Homework Statement
A triangular plate with height 6 ft and a base of 8 ft is submerged vertically in water so that the top is 3 ft below the surface. Express the hydrostatic force against one side of the plate as an integral and evaluate it. (Recall that the weight density of water is 62.5 lb/ft3.)
Homework Equations
hydrostatic pressure is [itex] p = \rho g h[/itex]
The Attempt at a Solution
The hydrostatic force is the pressure times the area of the surface that is submerged
the width of the triangle is solved using the following ratio:
[tex] \frac{w}{8}=\frac{9-x}{6} [/tex]
[tex] w = \frac{8}{6} (9-x) [/tex]
The force is then given by:
[tex] \int_{3}^{9} \rho g \frac{8}{6} (9-x) [/tex]
Are the upper and lower bounds of the integral correct?
In this question the weight density is given in lb/ft^3 - does this value replace the value of rho in the above equation or does it represent rho times g?
Thanks for your help!