You are caulking a window. The caulk is rather thick and, to lay the bead correctly, the exit nozzle is small. A caulking gun uses a plunger which is operated by pulling back on a handle. You must squeeze the handle very hard to get the caulk to come out of the narrow opening because
A) pressure is distributed uniformly throughout the fluid and the area of the plunger is much larger than the area of the opening.
B) viscous drag between the walls of the tip and the caulk causes the caulk to swirl around chaotically.
C) Newton's third law requires most of the energy in the caulk to be used to push back on the plunger rather than moving it through the tip.
D) the high density of the caulk impedes its flow through the small opening.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The principle that pressure is distributed uniformly throughout a fluid and the fact that the area of the plunger is much larger than the area of the opening means that a high force must be applied to the plunger to achieve the necessary pressure to push the caulk through the narrow opening. This is a direct application of Pascal's law.

You Are Caulking a Window