Pressure in solids

Question 1

What is pressure?

Answer 1

Concentration of a force or force per unit area

For example, when a drawing pin is pushed downwards:
It is pushed into the surface, rather than up towards the finger
This is because the sharp point is more concentrated (a small area) creating a larger pressure

Question 2

What happens to the pressure of a tractor?

Answer 2

• Tractors have large tyres
• This spreads the weight (force) of the tractor over a large area
• This reduces the pressure which prevents the heavy tractor from sinking into the mud

Question 3

What is the formula for pressure?

Answer 3

Pressure=Force/Area

Pressure measured pascals (Pa)
Area measured m^2
Force measured N

This equation tells us that:
If a force is spread over a large area it will result in a small pressure
If it is spread over a small area it will result in a large pressure

Question 4

True or false:
The smalled the area the higher the pressure

Answer 4

True

If the area was larger teh pressure would be smalled