FORCES & PRESSURE

PRESSURE , PRESSURE IN LIQUIDS -GAS &

p = F/A P = ρ hg ATMOSPHERIC
PRESSURE

Pascal’Principle

Archimedes’ Principle

Bernoulli’s Principle
 Understanding pressure

(1)A lady’s high heel shoe with a small base exerts a higher
pressure than a man shoe with a flat base. P = F / A.
Unit for pressure is Nm-2 or Pascal,Pa.

Walking over deep snow is difficult and tiring because

your feet sink at every steps. Skies or snowshoes make
it much easier because of the larger surface area of
contact. The skies causes the pressure becomes
smaller.
Figure(a) and Figure(b) show two ways in which a
gardener moves a wheelbarrow on a muddy road.

i), which of the ways is more suitable to

move on the muddy road?
 pressure in liquids
1. Liquids have pressure because of their weights.
2. The pressure in liquid acts equally in all directions and does not depend on
the shape or size of the container,also does not depend on the surface
area.

3. The pressure in liquid depend on :

- force of gravity
-depth of the liquid
- density of the liquid unit = Pascal
 Gas Pressure
The basic assumptions of kinetic molecular theory
1. Gases are made of tiny,individual particles.
2. Gas particles move rapidly and randomly in straight-line motion.
Particles collide with one another and with the walls of the
container in elastic collisions (no overall loss or gain of energy)
3. The average kinetic energies of gas particles increase as the
temperature increases.
4.The collision of gas molecules with the wall of the
container produces change of momentum or impulsive
force
 So the gas molecules exert a pressure on the inside of
the container because
pressure is force per unit area ( P = F )
A
Gas pressure is the force per unit area exerted by the gas
molecules as they collide with the walls of their
container.
What happen if the volume inside a container
decreases?
 The number and the size of the gas molecules remain unchanged
 The frequency of collisions between the gas molecules with the
walls of the container increase
 The pressure of the gas increases
 What happen if the container is heated?
 The pressure of the gas increases
 Measuring Gas Pressure
 Manometer

 Pgas = Patmosfera + h

 Pgas = Patmosfera - h
Bourdon Gauge

When the gas supply is connected to a Bourdon gauge,

the pressure in the curved metallic tube will try to straighten it.
Hence the pointer will rotate.
The magnitude of the gas pressure can be read off the
scale of the gauge.
 Atmospheric pressure

1. Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by the

atmospheric on the surface of the earth and all objects on
earth.
2. Atmospheric pressure is influenced by the height of an object
above the sea level ( altitude).
3. Hence as the altitude increases , the atmospheric pressure
decreases because the higher it is from the surface of the
Earth , the lower is the density of air.
4. We do not experience the atmospheric pressure at sea level
because the pressure of body equal to the atmospheric
pressure.
5. The atmospheric pressure at sea level is approximately
 1 atm = 1x 105 Pa = 76 cm Hg = 10 m of water.
Measuring atmospheric pressure
1.Fortin Barometer

If the vertical height of the mercury is h cm ,

 thefore the atmospheric pressure reading is
 “ h cm mercury ”.

2. Aneroid Barometer
 PASCAL’S PRINCIPLE

 Pascal’s principle states that when pressure is applied

to an enclosed fluid, the pressure will be transmitted
equally throughout the whole enclosed fluid.
 Applications of Pascal’s Principle
 (1)Automoboile hydraulic lift
 Automobile hydraulic lift is used to lift a vehicle in a
workshop.
(2) Hidraulik Jack

When the handle is pushed, valve P is closed and valve Q opens so

the pressure can be sent to the larger piston. The large piston will
rise.When the small piston is pulled out, valve Q closes and valve P
opens so that the oil in the tank enter the hydraulic cylinder as a
result of atmospheric pressure.
By moving the push-pull handle a number of times ,
the large piston can be raised carrying a heavy load.
(3) Hidraulik Brake

A small force acting at the pedal can transmit

a large force to all wheels simultaneously to stop the car.
It is because the pressure will be transferred through
the pedal brake liquid to car’s tyre .
 Archimedes’ principle.
 Archimedes’ Principle state that “ When an object is
immersed in a fluid (a liquid or a gas) ,the buoyant force
( upthrust force) on the object is equal in size to the
weight of fluid displaced by the object.

Buoyant Force = Weight of fluid displace

= mg (note : F = ma)
= ρ Vg (note : ρ = m
)
V
Thus FB = ρ Vg
 Application of Archimedes’ Principle
 Hydrogen filled balloon

 Hot-air balloon
 Hydrometer
 An hydrometer is an instrument
used to measure
the density of a liquid.
 The hydrometer floats
higher in a liquid of higher

density.
Ship
The buoyant force acting
on the ship is large enough
because the ship is hollow
and the volume of water
displaced by the ship is

sufficiently large. ( FB = ρ V g)
 Bernoulli’s principle.
Bernoulli’s principle states that : The pressure of a moving
liquid decreases as the speed of the fluid increases and
vice versa.
 The conditions which enable the Berrnoulli’s
Principle to use
 (1) The fluid is incompressible and flows easily
 (2) The fluid is streamline or in layers,i.e. there are no
eddies or turbulence
2.

3.
 Use of Bernoulli’s Principle in Everyday Life
 A person who stands near a railway feels like falling into
it when suddenly a train moves with a high speed
passes him. It is because the velocity of the air in front of
him increases. According to Bernoulli’s Principle , the
pressure of the moving air decreases as the speed of the
air increases. The higher atmospheric pressure behind
pushes him forward.
 When two speed bots move faster and closely to each
other, an accident may be occurred. It is because the
water moved at a very high velocity between the boats.
According to Bernoulli’s Principle , the pressure of the
moving air decreases as the speed of the air increases .
 The higher water pressure on either sides of the boats
caused its closer to each other .
 (3) A table-tennis player often gives the ball ‘top spin’
enabling a hard drive to be hit over the net and land on
the table. A ball hit with spin swerves considerably in its
path.

-therefore a pressure difference between the upper

and lower surfaces which deflects the ball,
originally hit from right to left in downwards
direction