Ch. 6: What is Water and Where Does it Come From? Flashcards
What by far, remains the most commonly used fire extinguishing agent?
water
What is water considered for all practical purposes?
incompressible
What abilities does water have to extinguish a fire?
cooling, absorbing heat from the fire; smothering, excluding oxygen
What govern the heat-absorbing ability of water?
specific heat and latent heat of vaporization
What is a measure of the heat-absorbing capacity of a substance?
specific heat
What is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree F?
A BTU
What is the ratio between the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a specified quantity of a material and the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of an identical quantity of water by the same number of degrees?
specific heat of any substance
Water absorbs ______ times as much heat as does an equal amount of carbon dioxide.
five
What is the quantity of heat absorbed by a substance when it changes from a liquid to a vapor?
latent heat of vaporization
What is the temperature at which a liquid absorbs enough heat to change to vapor known as?
boiling point
At its boiling point of 212 degrees F, water expands approximately how much its original volume?
1700 times
What is the tendency of a liquid to possess internal resistance to flow?
viscosity
What is the density of liquids in relation to water known as?
specific gravity
What is defined as force per unit area?
pressure
What is a simple measure of weight and is usually expressed in pounds or kilograms?
force
What is the weight of 1 cubic foot of water?
~62.5 lbs
What is the speed at which fluid travels referred to as?
velocity
What is considered standard atmospheric pressure?
At sea level, 14.7 psi
What is any pressure that is less than atmospheric pressure called?
vacuum
What is absolute zero pressure called?
a perfect vacuum
What misnomer do gauge readings of less than 0 psi or kPa often referred to in the fire service?
“negative pressure”
What is referred to the height of a water supply above the discharge orifice?
head
What is the stored potential energy available to force water through pipe, fittings, fire hose, and adapters?
static pressure
What is the pressure in a water system before water flows from a hydrant considered as?
static pressure