Hydrostatic pressure increase at 10 m depth due to the water column (ρ g h) is closest to which value?

• A. 199,325 Pa
• B. 100,000 Pa
• C. 98,000 Pa
• D. 9,800 Pa

Answer: (C)

Hydrostatic pressure increases with depth because the weight of the fluid above pushes down, and this pressure rise is given by ρ g h, where ρ is density and g is gravitational acceleration. For water, using ρ ≈ 1000 kg/m^3 and g ≈ 9.8 m/s^2, at a depth of 10 m the increase is 1000 × 9.8 × 10 = 98,000 Pa. That is about 98 kPa, which matches the closest value among the choices. Using a slightly higher seawater density would give around 100 kPa, but 98,000 Pa is the standard freshwater estimate and closest to the calculated result.