Topic: PRESSURE

Subtopic: Pressure exerted by solids

Name:............................................... Class:............................ Date:....................
ACTIVITY 1
(a) Measure the mass, m of the wooden block provided using the weighing
scale.
m = .......................... g
m = ..........................kg
(b) Calculate the weight w of the block
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ACTIVITY 2
(a)
`

h
A3

A2

A1

l
Measure the length l, breadth b, and height h of the wooden block as
shown above. Convert your measurements to S.I units.
l = .................. cm
l = .................... m
1

b = ................. cm
b = .................. m
h = ................ cm
h = ................. m
(b) Calculate the area of each of the shaded surfaces in S.I units.
A1 = ........................m2
A2 = ........................m2
A3 = ........................m2
(c) Calculate the pressure exerted on each surface when the block lies on
them.
w
A1
w
P2
A2
w
P3
A3
P1

= ...................................... Pa
= ...................................... Pa
= ....................................... Pa

(d) Which surface produces the greatest pressure?

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(e) What do you conclude about the relationship between pressure and
surface area over which a given force acts?
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ACTIVITY 3

Fig: 1

Fig: 2

1. Why does the magician in fig 1 above sit on the nails and he remains unhurt?

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2. What do you think would happen if he sat on a single nail?

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3. Why is it easy to push the thumb tuck or drawing pin in fig 2 into a wooden board?

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4. Following the illustrations above can you suggest any five useful applications of pressure exerted by solid surfaces in daily
life?
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4

Assignment
1. The figure below show a rectangular block of mass 5.0 kg.

Determine
(i)

The least pressure exerted by the block

(ii)

The greatest pressure exerted by the block

2. A car of mass 600 kg has four tyres each of surface area 0.005 m2. Determine the
pressure exerted by each tyre on the ground.
3. A force of 5 x 103 N acts on an area and creates a pressure of 12 Nm-2. Over what
area is the force acting?
4. A pressure of 16 kPa is created by a force acting on an area of 5 m2. What is the size
of the force?