Discharge time of a cylindrical leaking bucket

The problem of the discharge time of a cylindrical bucket with a hole in the bottom is solved by means of Bernoulli's equation for non-steady flow. Comparison of the results with experiment and with a simplified analysis using Torricelli's law is made. The measurements were made by high-school students in a laboratory session under guidance of instructors. It is noted that, for large ratios between the radius R of the cylinder and the radius r of the hole, the simple formula for the discharge time of a leaking bucket found by means of Torricelli's law can be used to interpret the experimental results, provided effective parameters for the model are defined.