Streamline And Turbulent Flow
The Reynolds number is used to predict the nature of fluid flow in a pipe; a very high Reynolds number for the flowing liquid most strongly indicates that the flow is:
Select the correct option:
Solution
Turbulent and disorderly
According to NCERT Class 11, Chapter 10 (Mechanical Properties of Fluids), the Reynolds number Re=ηρvd is a dimensionless quantity comparing inertial forces to viscous forces in a flowing fluid. Low values (below about 1000) correspond to orderly streamline or laminar flow, while high values (above about 2000) indicate turbulent flow where the fluid moves chaotically with eddies and mixing. A very high Reynolds number means inertial effects dominate over viscous damping, so the flow becomes turbulent and disorderly. The option 'smoothly streamlined' describes the low-Reynolds-number regime, the opposite case. The option 'completely stationary' is incorrect because the fluid is clearly flowing. The option 'always laminar regardless of speed' contradicts the very purpose of the Reynolds number, which is precisely to mark the transition from orderly to chaotic flow as speed increases. Because Re is dimensionless, it allows engineers to predict flow behaviour across pipes of very different sizes and for different fluids using a single threshold. A consistency check confirms that fast flow in wide pipes through a low-viscosity fluid, all of which raise Re, is indeed observed to be turbulent with visible eddies and mixing, while slow flow of thick syrup through a thin tube stays smooth, validating the answer.
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About This Question
- Subject
- physics
- Chapter
- properties of solids and liquids
- Topic
- streamline and turbulent flow
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Turbulent and disorderly
According to NCERT Class 11, Chapter 10 (Mechanical Properties of Fluids), the Reynolds number Re=ηρvd is a dimensionless quantity comparing inertial forces to viscous forces in a flowing fluid. Low values (below about 1000) correspond to orderly streamline or laminar flow, while high values (above about 2000) indicate turbulent flow where the fluid moves chaotically with eddies and mixing. A very high Reynolds number means inertial effects dominate over viscous damping, so the flow becomes turbulent and disorderly. The option 'smoothly streamlined' describes the low-Reynolds-number regime, the opposite case. The option 'completely stationary' is incorrect because the fluid is clearly flowing. The option 'always laminar regardless of speed' contradicts the very purpose of the Reynolds number, which is precisely to mark the transition from orderly to chaotic flow as speed increases. Because Re is dimensionless, it allows engineers to predict flow behaviour across pipes of very different sizes and for different fluids using a single threshold. A consistency check confirms that fast flow in wide pipes through a low-viscosity fluid, all of which raise Re, is indeed observed to be turbulent with visible eddies and mixing, while slow flow of thick syrup through a thin tube stays smooth, validating the answer.
This medium difficulty physics question is from the chapter properties of solids and liquids, covering the topic of streamline and turbulent flow. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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