Physic Form 4 : Chapter 3

Force and Pressure

Understanding Pressure
Pressure is the force which acts normal per unit area of contact.It's perpendicular force that acts on a unit area.

Formula Pressure,P(Nm-2/Pa) = Force,F(N) Area,A(m2)

Factors that affect the pressure acting on a surface For a fixed force, smaller contact area will produce greater pressure. For a fixed contact area,larger force will produce greater pressure.
Stilettos will cause most pain when it tread on our foot.This is because, stilettos has the smallest area of contact with our foot.So,stilettos will exert the most pressure on our foot...

Sneakers cause less pain when it tread on our foot.This is because, sneakers has bigger area of contact with our foot.So,sneakers will exert less pressure on our foot...

Example question : The wind force on the wall is 1600N.If the wall has an area of 8m2,what is the pressure on it? Pressure,P(Nm-2/Pa) = Force,F(N) Area,A(m2) So, Pressure = 1600N 8m2 = 200Pa So,wind pressure on the wall is 200Pa

Understanding Pressure in Liquid

Liquid pressure is due to the weight of liquid acting on the surface of any objects in the liquid.

Formula

where :
P = Pressure h = depth = density of liquid g = Gravitational Field Strength

The jet of water is further than the jet of oil from the similar holes at the same height. This is because the density of water is higher than oil and hence,the pressure of the water is also higher than the oil