Question

Take a plastic syringe. Pull out its piston to have the maximum capacity in the syringe. Plug
the nozzle of the syringe, by fixing a rubber cork and then either holding it tightly with thumb
or pressing it against the table. Push the piston in, observe carefully and note how far you
were able to push the piston , note the reading on the syringe or measure with the help of a
scale.
Remove the rubber cork and fill the syringe with water, oil and sand in turn. Repeat the
process of plugging the nozzle and pushing the piston again for each of the material chosen
respectively.
Answer the following questions on the basis of the activity performed.
1. Was the syringe empty in the first step?
2. In which case was the piston easily pushed in?
3. How would your observation differ if we had filled the cylinder of syringe with
(a) Cotton wool
(b) A cylindrical wooden piece cut to size of the inner diameter of the syringe?
4. What do you conclude about the inter particle space in case of liquids and gases?
5. Is there anything between the particles of air ,water and sand?

Answer 1

1.there is presence of gas or air inside the syringe. Hence it cannot be said that the series was completely empty in the first case

2.the piston could be easily pushed in in presence of air. This is because there is significant amount of interparticle space in case of gases and hence there is decrease in the interparticle space when the piston is pressed.

3.A.there will be significant amount of compression which will be present in the object

B.the competition will be almost negligible as compared to that of the liquid.

4. We can conclude the interparticle space in case of liquid is lesser as compared to in solid: