24/10/16

Pressure and Moments

W Richards
The Weald School

Pressure some basic ideas

24/10/16

Describe and draw experiments for each of the following

ideas:

1) Pressure increases with depth

2) Pressure is the same in all directions at a certain depth

Pressure

24/10/16

Explain how the following work:

1) A sharp knife is easier to use then a blunt knife
2) A drawing pin
3) A woman with stilettos on might damage a floor more
than an elephant would

Pressure

24/10/16

Pressure depends on two things:

1) How much force is applied, and
2) How big (or small) the area on which this force is
applied is.

Pressure can be calculated using the equation:

Pressure (in N/m2) = Force (in N)

Area (in m2)

OR in cm2 and N/cm2

Some pressure questions

24/10/16

1) Calculate the pressure exerted by a 1000N elephant

when standing on the floor if his feet have a total area
of 1m2.
2) A brick is rested on a surface. The brick has an area
of 20cm2. Its weight is 10N. Calculate the pressure.
3) A woman exerts a pressure of 100N/cm2 when standing
on the floor. If her weight is 500N what is the area of
the floor she is standing on?

4) (Hard!) The pressure due to the atmosphere is

100,000N/m2. If 10 Newtons are equivalent to 1kg how
much mass is pressing down on every square centimetre
of our body?

Some examples of pressure

24/10/16

Gas Pressure

24/10/16

Hydraulic systems

24/10/16

Levers

24/10/16

Pivot
Effort

Load

3 types of lever

24/10/16

Load is on other
side of pivot (e.g.
seesaw)

Load is outside
the effort, (e.g.
biceps)
Load is inside the
effort (e.g.
wheelbarrow)

Moments

24/10/16

A moment is a turning force, e.g. trying to open or close a

door or using a spanner. The size of the moment is given by:

Moment (in Nm) = force (in N) x distance from pivot (in m)

Calculate the following turning moments:
5 metres
100 Newtons
2 metres

200 Newtons

Balancing moments
2 metres

200 Newtons

Total ANTI-CLOCKWISE
turning moment = 200x2 =
400Nm

24/10/16

2 metres

100 Newtons

Total CLOCKWISE turning

moment = 100x2 = 200Nm

The anti-clockwise moment is bigger so the seesaw will

turn anti-clockwise

Balanced or unbalanced?

24/10/16

Stability

24/10/16

1. Centre of mass is within

the wheelbase no problem!

2. Centre of mass is directly above

the edge of the wheelbase car is on
the point of toppling

3. Car falls over