Question

The density of a hippo is approximately 1030kg/m^3,so it sinks to the bottom of the freshwater lakes and rivers. A 1500kg hippo is completely submerged ,standing on the bottom of a lake. What is the approximate value of the upward normal force on the hippo?

Answer 1

Answer:

14,700 N

Explanation:

The hyppo is standing completely submerged on the bottom of the lake. Since it is still, it means that the net force acting on it is zero: so, the weight of the hyppo (W), pushing downward, is balanced by the upward normal force, N:

$W-N=0$ (1)

the weight of the hyppo is

$W=mg=(1500 kg)(9.8 m/s^2)=14,700 N$

where m is the hyppo's mass and g is the gravitational acceleration; therefore, solving eq.(1) for N, we find

$N=W=14,700 N$