Pressure Calculations
1. A large cube is resting on a flat surface. Each face of the cube has an area of 0.5 m2.
The force of the cube’s weight on the surface is 200 N.
0.5 m2
Calculate the pressure that the cube exerts on the surface.
pressure =
Pa
2. A gust of wind applies a force of 2100 N to the sail of a small yacht.
The yacht has a sail area of 60 m2.
2100 N
sail area = 60 m2
Calculate the pressure caused by the wind on the sail of the yacht.
pressure =
Pa
3. A circus performer balancing on one stilt has a weight of 700 N.
The area of the stilt in contact with the ground has an area of 0.01 m2.
Calculate the pressure exerted on the ground.
pressure =
Pa
1 of 2
Pressure Calculations
4. A cube has a height of 2 m, a depth of 2 m and a width of 2 m.
2m
2m
2m
a. Calculate the area of each face of the cube.
area =
m2
b. The cube has a weight of 150 N.
Calculate the pressure exerted onto the surface beneath the cube.
pressure =
Pa
5. The gas pressure inside a bottle of pop is 300 000 Pa.
The surface area inside the pop bottle is approximately 0.1 m2.
Calculate the force of the gas pushing outwards from the bottle.
force =
6. A pressure of 10 000 Pa acts on a triangular column.
N
Figure 1
The shape of the base in contact with the ground is
shown in Figure 1.
2m
4m
a. Calculate the area of the triangular base in Figure 1.
area =
m2
force =
N
b. Calculate the force acting on the triangular base in Figure 1.
2 of 2