What defines a diaphragm pump?

What defines a diaphragm pump?

• A. A pump using a flexible diaphragm in place of a piston
• B. A pump that uses centrifugal force
• C. A pump with a rigid piston and no diaphragm
• D. A hand-cranked pump without moving parts

Answer: (A)

A diaphragm pump uses a flexible membrane that moves to change the volume inside a chamber, drawing liquid in through an inlet valve and then pushing it out through an outlet valve as the membrane flexes back. That flexible boundary—the diaphragm—replaces a rigid piston as the moving part that does the pumping. This design makes it a positive-displacement pump, delivering a precise amount of liquid with each stroke and often handling viscous or chemical-laden mixtures well, which is why it’s common in pesticide application. The other descriptions describe different pump types or impractical setups: a pump driven by centrifugal force relies on an impeller to fling fluid outward, not a flexible boundary; a pump with a rigid piston would be a piston pump, not a diaphragm pump; and a hand-cranked device with no moving parts wouldn’t pump at all.

A diaphragm pump uses a flexible membrane that moves to change the volume inside a chamber, drawing liquid in through an inlet valve and then pushing it out through an outlet valve as the membrane flexes back. That flexible boundary—the diaphragm—replaces a rigid piston as the moving part that does the pumping. This design makes it a positive-displacement pump, delivering a precise amount of liquid with each stroke and often handling viscous or chemical-laden mixtures well, which is why it’s common in pesticide application.

The other descriptions describe different pump types or impractical setups: a pump driven by centrifugal force relies on an impeller to fling fluid outward, not a flexible boundary; a pump with a rigid piston would be a piston pump, not a diaphragm pump; and a hand-cranked device with no moving parts wouldn’t pump at all.