ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)Mechanical Comprehension (MC)Easy
A mechanic is inspecting a car engine's cooling system. The system uses a pump to circulate coolant. What fundamental principle describes how this pump creates fluid flow?
- ANewton's Third Law of Motion
- BArchimedes' Principle
- CConservation of Energy
- DBernoulli's Principle
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Bernoulli's Principle
Bernoulli's Principle explains that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. A pump creates flow by increasing fluid speed, thereby decreasing pressure.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Newton's Third Law relates to action-reaction forces, not the internal dynamics of fluid flow in a pump.
- B. Archimedes' Principle relates to buoyancy, not fluid flow generated by a pump.
- C. While conservation of energy applies, Bernoulli's Principle is the specific application for fluid dynamics in this context.
Bernoulli's Principle
States that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in static pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy.
- Applies to fluids in motion (liquids and gases).
- Explains how aircraft wings generate lift and how pumps create flow.
- Derived from the principle of conservation of energy.
Memory trick: Fluid's fast flow means pressure's low.