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Pressure

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Pressure
Everyonesbeenunderpressureatonetimeoranother,orincertaincircumstanceshavereallyfeltthe
pressure.Fromascientificperspective,however,pressurehasaveryspecificdefinition,anditsexploration
leadstosomeveryimportantapplications.
Inphysics,pressureistheeffectofaforceactinguponasurface.Mathematically,itisascalarquantity
calculatedastheforceappliedperunitarea,wheretheforceappliedisalwaysperpendiculartothesurface.The
SIunitofpressure,aPascal(Pa),isequivalenttoaN/m2.

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Allstatesofmattercanexertpressure.Whenyouwalkacrossanicecoveredlake,youareapplyingapressure
totheiceequaltotheforceofgravityonyourbody(yourweight)dividedbytheareaoverwhichyoure
contactingtheice.Thisiswhyitisimportanttospreadyourweightoutwhentraversingfragilesurfaces.Your
oddsofbreakingthroughtheicegouptremendouslyifyouwalkacrosstheiceinhighheels,asthesmallarea
contactingtheiceleadstoahighpressure.Thisisalsothereasonsnowshoeshavesuchalargearea.Theyare
designedtoreducethepressureappliedtothetopcrustofsnowsothatyoucanwalkmoreeasilywithout
sinkingintosnowdrifts.

Fluids,also,canexertpressure.Allfluidsexertoutwardpressureinalldirectionsonthesidesofanycontainer
holdingthefluid.EventheEarthsatmosphereexertspressure,whichyouareexperiencingrightnow.The
pressuresinsideandoutsideyourbodyaresowellbalanced,however,thatyourarelynoticethe101,325Pascals
duetotheatmosphere(approximately10N/cm2).Ifyourideinanairplaneandchangealtitude(andtherefore
pressure)quickly,youmayhaveexperiencedapoppingsensationinyourearsthisisduetothepressure
insideyourearbalancingthepressureoutsideyourearinatransferofairthroughsmalltubesthatconnectyour
innereartoyourthroat.

Question:Airpressureisapproximately100,000Pascals.Whatforceisexertedonthisbookwhen
itissittingflatonadesk?Theareaofthebookscoveris0.035m2.
Answer:

Question:Afishermanwithamassof75kgfallsasleeponhisfourleggedchairofmass5kg.If
eachlegofthechairhasasurfaceareaof2.5104m2incontactwiththeground,whatisthe
averagepressureexertedbythefishermanandchairontheground?

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Answer:Theforceappliedistheforceofgravity,thereforewecanwrite:

Question:Ascalewhichreads0inthevacuumofspaceisplacedonthesurfaceofplanetPhysica.
Ontheplanetssurface,thescaleindicatesaforceof10,000Newtons.Calculatethesurfaceareaof
thescale,giventhatatmosphericpressureonthesurfaceofPhysicais80,000Pascals.
Answer:

Question:Rankthefollowingfromhighestpressuretolowestpressureupontheground:
Theatmosphereatsealevel
A7000kgelephantwithtotalarea0.5m2incontactwiththeground
A65kgladyinhighheelswithtotalarea0.005m2incontactingwiththeground
A1600kgcarwithatotaltirecontactareaof0.2m2

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Answer:Fromhighestpressuretolowestpressure:
Theelephant(137,000Pa)
Theladyinhighheels(127,000Pa)
Theatmosphere(100,000Pa)
Thecar(78,400Pa)

Thepressurethatafluidexertsonanobjectsubmergedinthatfluidcanbecalculatedalmostassimply.Ifthe
objectissubmersedtoadepth(h),thepressureisfoundbymultiplyingthedensityofthefluidbythedepth
submerged,allmultipliedbytheaccelerationduetogravity.

Thisisknownasthegaugepressure,becausethisisthereadingyouwouldobserveonapressuregauge.Ifthere
isalsoatmosphereabovethefluid,suchasthesituationhereonearth,youcandeterminetheabsolutepressure,
ortotalpressure,byaddingintheatmosphericpressure(P0),whichisequaltoapproximately100,000Pascals.

Question:SamanthaspotsburiedtreasurewhilescubadivingonherCaribbeanvacation.Ifshe
mustdescendtoadepthof40meterstoexaminethepressure,whatgaugepressurewillshereadon
herscubaequipment?Thedensityofseawateris1025kg/m3.

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Answer:

Question:Whatistheabsolutepressureexertedonthediverinthepreviousproblembythewater
andatmosphere?

Answer:

Question:Adiverspressuregaugereads250,000Pascalsinfreshwater(=1000kg/m3).How
deepisthediver?

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Answer:

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