Level 6: Flowing fluids

Air and fluids · level 6 of 8 · rough age 13-14 (a guide for parents; anyone can start anywhere)

Now the fluids start moving. This level measures how much flows through a pipe, why a narrow nozzle makes water squirt faster, and Bernoulli's principle: fast flow, low pressure. You use it to measure wind speed, to see how a wing lifts, and to work out how fast Ingenuity's rotor blades swept through Mars's thin air.

Lesson	You will be able to
Flow rate	Use \(Q = Av\) for the volume flowing each second
Narrow pipes, fast flow	Use \(A_1 v_1 = A_2 v_2\) to find the speed in a narrower pipe
Bernoulli's principle	Use \(p + \tfrac12 \rho v^2\) to link speed and pressure
Measuring wind speed	Find a wind's speed from the pressure it makes, on Mars and on Earth
How a wing lifts	Explain lift from the air a wing turns downwards
Propellers and rotors	Find a rotor's tip speed, and compare it with the speed of sound

Previous: Level 5: Pressure and buoyancy · Next: Level 7: Lift and drag · Air and fluids topic page