Your heart pumps blood into your aorta. The maximum flow rate into the aorta is about 500 cm3 s-1 . Assume the aorta has diameter 2.5 cm, the flow is laminar (not very accurate), and that blood is a Newtonian fluid with viscosity roughly equal to that of water. a. Find the pressure drop per unit length along the aorta. Express your answer in SI units. Compare the pressure drop along a 10 cm section of aorta to atmospheric pressure (105 Pa).

b. How much power does the heart expend just pushing blood along a 10 cm section of aorta? Compare to your basal metablism rate, about 100 W, and comment.

c. The fluid velocity in laminar pipe flow is zero at the walls of the pipe and maximum at the center. Sketch the velocity as a function of distance r from the center. Find the velocity at the center. [Hint: The total volume flow rate, which you are given, equals v(r)2πrdr.]