Reflecting on the Work Required to Pump Gasoline

Have you ever wondered how much work is required to pump gasoline from an underground tank to ground level?

The Work Required to Pump Gasoline

The work required to pump all the gasoline from an underground cylindrical tank to ground level is approximately 4,676,029.06 Joules. But how do we calculate this work?

Reflecting on the work required to pump gasoline from an underground tank to ground level can be quite intriguing. With the given data of a cylindrical tank lying horizontally underground, we can break down the calculation process step by step.

Step 1: Finding the Volume of the Cylindrical Tank

To begin, we calculate the volume of the tank using the formula for the volume of a cylinder - Volume = π × radius² × length. With a radius of 3m and a length of 15m, we find that the volume is approximately 424.115m³.

Step 2: Determining the Mass of the Gasoline

Next, we multiply the volume by the density of gasoline (748.9 kg/m³) to find the mass of the gasoline inside the tank. The calculated mass is approximately 317,909.34 kg.

Step 3: Calculating the Weight of the Gasoline

We then determine the weight of the gasoline by multiplying the mass by the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s²). The weight is calculated to be around 3,117,352.71 N (Newtons).

Step 4: Computing the Work Required

Finally, we calculate the work required to pump all the gasoline to ground level. Since the tank is lying horizontally, we consider the average distance the gasoline has to be pumped, which is half of the tank's diameter (1.5m). Multiplying the force by the distance, we arrive at the work required, approximately 4,676,029.06 J (Joules).