CHAPTER FOUR: PRESSURE

• Lesson objectives
• By the end of the lesson, the learner should able to:
1. Explain the concept of pressure
2. State the S.I unit of pressure
3. Explain dependence of pressure on surface of contact
4. Identify the applications of pressure due to solids
Introduction
•  Pressure is defined as the force acting normally (perpendicularly) per
unit area.
• The SI units for pressure is newton per metre squared ). One is
known as one Pascal (Pa).

• Another unit for measuring pressure include:

i.
Pressure in solids

• Factors affecting pressure in solids include:

1. Surface of area-the larger the area of contact the
lower the pressure exerted.
2. Force- the greater the force applied the greater the
pressure exerted.
• Therefore, minimum pressure is obtained by using
larger area of contact while maximum pressure is
obtained by using the smaller area of contact.
• Note that this statement is true only when the
force is constant.
Observations and conclusion
• At:
1:25: Observe and note down the depth made by face A into the sand.
1:41: Observe and note down the depth made by face B into the sand.
1:51: Observe and note down the depth made by face C into the sand
• Which face made the greatest depression into the sand?
• What conclusion can you draw about depression into the sand based
on the area of contact?
Quiz.
Who do you think is most likely to damage the surface of a wooden floor when
standing on it?
1) The lady wearing stiletto heels? The elephant?

Write down your answer and explain the reasons for your choice.
Be prepared to share your ideas with the class in a few minutes
Answer!!!!!
• The sharp end has a much smaller surface area so, for a given (the
same) force, the PRESSUREs exerted by the sharp end of the stiletto
heels is much greater than the large, round end of the elephant toes.
Experiment.
Aim: To calculate the pressure exerted by different faces of a solid
cuboid.
Apparatus:
1. Electronic balance.
2. Cuboid.
3. Ruler.
4. Calculator.
Experiment, con’t.
Set up:
Experiment, con’t.
Procedure:
1. Measure mass of the cuboid then record.
2. Label faces of the cuboid; Face A, Face B and Face C as shown in the
set up.
3. Measure length and width of each face then record.
4. Calculate area of each face using the formula; Area = Length X
Width.
5. Calculate pressure exerted by the faces A, B, and C. Use the formula
given previously.
Experiment, con’t.
Data collection:
Mass of cuboid in gram =
____________g
Mass of cuboid in kilograms =
________kg
Weight of cuboid in newton =
_______N
Note:
Weight = Mass X Gravity (Use
gravity = 10N/Kg)
Experiment, con’t.
Observation:
1. Larger surface area exerts a pressure of
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2. Smaller surface area exerts a pressure of
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Conclusion:
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Standard form
• A  number is written in standard form as where and is and integer (either
positive or negative number).
• Standard form is a way of writing down very large or very small numbers
easily.
• A number less than one has a negative index. E.g:
• A number greater than 10 has a positive index. E.g:
• A number less than ten has . E.g:
Note:
• Always put the number in standard form when performing their order of
operation, that is when using .
Examples
•  Write the following numbers in standard form
a) 234
b) 0.009
c) 5000000
d) 22.22
e) 0.1111111
• Solve
Significant figures
• It may be best to round to the same number of significant figures as the data
you're given in the calculation – to the value of least significant figures.
• To write a number in the required significant figures, first write in in standard
form the start counting the first significant figure from further left.
• Examples:
• Write the following numbers in the stated significant figures.
• 32.56789 (4s.f)
• 0.008934 (3s.f)
• 4.564378 (2s.f)
• Note that in physic, numerical answers should be given to 4 s.f.
Calculating pressure
•1.  A force of 20 N acts over an area of 2 . What is the pressure?
2. A man of mass 84 kg stands upright on a floor. If the area of contact
of his shoes and the floor is , determine the average pressure he
exerts on the floor. (Take g = 10 N/Kg).
3. A rectangular brick of weight 10 N, measures 50 cm × 30 cm × 10
cm. calculate the values of the maximum and minimum pressures
which the block exert when resting on a horizontal table.
Applications of pressure in solids
Pressure in liquids

• A solid surface can exert pressure, but fluids (i.e. liquids or gases) can also exert
pressure.
• This might seem strange if you think about it because it's hard to imagine
hammering in a nail with liquid.
• To make sense of this, imagine being submerged to some depth in water. The water
above you would be pushing down on you because of the force of gravity and
would therefore be exerting pressure on you.
• If you go deeper, there will be more water above you, so the weight and pressure
from the water would increase too.
• Okay, so the weight of a fluid can exert pressure on objects submerged in it, but
how can we determine exactly how much pressure a fluid will exert?
Deriving the formula

• Imagine
  having a can containing water.
• The weight of the column of water exerts pressure at the
bottom of the can.
• To figure out an expression for the pressure we'll start
with the definition of pressure
• Replacing force with weight, equation (i) becomes …….(ii)
• , but . Recall that and .
• Therefore, equation (ii) becomes .
• Pressure exerted by liquid is determined by:
Understanding pressure in liquid

• A liquid in a container exerts pressure because

of its weight .
• For example, if you try to put your finger over
the end of a tap when it is turned on, you can
feel the pressure of the water in the pipe.
Factors affecting pressure in liquid
• Density- the denser the liquid the greater the
pressure exerted.
• Liquid column (Height)-the higher the liquid
column the greater the pressure exerted at
the bottom.
Examples

•• A  diver is 10 m below the surface of water in a dam. If the density of water is 1,000 ,
determine the pressure due to the water on the diver. (Take ).
• The density of mercury is 13,600 kgm-3. Determine the liquid pressure at a point 76 cm
below the surface of mercury. (Take )
• The height of the mercury column in a barometer is found to be 67.0 cm at a certain place.
What would be the height of a water barometer at the same place? (Densities of mercury
and water are and respectively.)
• The barometric height at sea level is 76cm of mercury while at a point on a highland it is
74cm of mercury. What is the altitude of the point? (Take g = 10m/s2 , density of mercury
= 13600kg/m3 and density of air as 1.25kg/m3)
• A person’s lung pressure as recorded by a mercury manometer is 90 mm Hg. Express this
pressure in SI units.
Application of pressure in liquids

Construction of dam
• The wall of a dam is much thicker at
the bottom than at the top because it
must withstand the increased lateral
pressure in depths of the water.
• The higher the depth , the higher the
pressure exerted, thus the much
thicker the wall of the dam at bottom .
Blood transfusion
• In blood transfusion, the bottle is
hung at a higher position to
increase the pressure of liquid.
• This enables the blood to have
sufficient pressure to flow into
the veins of the patient.
Thick wall built in submarine
• Submarine is built with thick wall
so as to withstand enormous
pressure at greater depth.
• This is because the deeper the
submarine submerge into the
water, the greater the pressure
exerted.
Erecting water tanks
• Water tanks are erected high
above the ground to increase
the water column.
• Since pressure in liquid increase
with high, water will therefore
come out with a higher pressure
at the tap.
Atmospheric pressure

• The atmosphere is the layer of air around the Earth. Key features of the atmosphere:
it is thin compared to the size of the Earth
it becomes less dense as the altitude increases
• Pressure due to weight of air is known as atmospheric pressure.
• Atmospheric pressure decreases as the height of a surface above ground level
increases. This is because, as the altitude increases:
the number of air molecules decreases
the weight of the air decreases
there is less air above a surface
• This is why aircraft that fly at high altitudes must be pressurized. If the air pressure is
too low, humans cannot take in oxygen quickly enough to meet their bodies’ needs.
Experiment

Aim: To show existence of atmospheric

pressure
Apparatus
Glass tumbler
Hardcover
Water
Observation
• The water remains in the glass. This is due to
the atmospheric pressure acts on the
cardboard pushing it up.
U-tube manometer

• It
  is a transparent tube bent into
U-shape.
• When a liquid is poured into a u-
tube it settles at equal level since
pressure depends on height and
they share the same bottom.
• Consider the following diagrams;
For the levels to differ the pressure
must be greater than , hence
U-tube manometer, cont’
•  If is the lung pressure, is the atmospheric pressure, then if the
difference is ‘h’ then lung pressure can calculated as follows.

Example
1. A man blows into one end of a U-tube containing water until the
levels differ by 40.0 cm. if the atmospheric pressure is and the
density of water is , calculate his lung pressure.
Measuring atmospheric pressure

•   mercury barometer
Simple
• It is constructed using a thick walled glass tube of length and is
closed at one end.
• Mercury is added into the tube then inverted and dipped into a dish
containing more mercury.
• The space above the mercury column is called Torricelli an vacuum.
• The height ‘h’ (if it is at sea level) would be found to be .
• Atmospheric pressure can be calculated as, P = ρ g h =>where ρ
(mercury), , h- 0.76 m. Then P = (1.36 × 104) × 9.81 × 0.76 = 1.014 ×
105 Pa.
• NOTE- this is the standard atmospheric pressure, sometimes called
one atmosphere. It is approximately one bar
Fortin barometer
• This is a more accurate mercury
barometer.
• The adjusting screw is adjusted
first to touch the mercury level
in the leather bag.
Aneroid barometer

• Increase in pressure causes the box to

contract, the movements are
magnified by the system of levers and
is transmitted to the pointer by the
fine chain and this causes the pointer
to move.
• The scale is suitably calibrated to read
pressure. Since pressure falls or rises as
altitude falls or rises, the pointer can
also be calibrated to read altitude
Bourdon gauge

• It is also called gauge pressure and is

used in gas cylinders.
• When air is blown into the rubber tube,
the curved metal tube tries to
straighten out and this causes
movement which is transmitted by
levers and gears attached to a pointer.
• This gauge can measure both gas and
liquid pressure
Examples
•1.  The height of the mercury column in a barometer is found to be
67.0 cm at a certain place. What would be the height of a water
barometer at the same place?
Application of atmospheric pressure

Rubber sucker
• This is a shallow rubber cap. Before use it is
moistened to get a good seal then pressed
firmly on a smooth surface so that the air
inside is pushed out.
• The atmospheric pressure will then hold it
firmly against the surface as shown below.
• They are used by printing machines to lift
papers, lifting glass panes, heavy metal
sheets etc.
Drinking straw

• When sucked, air inside straw is

removed , leaving a low pressure
area.
• The higher atmospheric pressure
acts on the surface of water and
pushed drinks into the straw.
The syringe
• They work in the principle as the
straw.
• They are used by the doctors in
hospitals for giving injections.
Bicycle pump

• It uses two valves, one in the pump

(greasy leather) and the other in the
tire. When the handle is pushed in,
the pressure inside the barrel
becomes greater than the one in the
tire and this pushes air inside.
• The valve in the tire is made such that
air is locked inside once pumped.
The siphon

• It is used to empty tanks which

may not be easy to empty by
pouring their contents out.
• The tubing must be lowered
below the base of the tank. The
liquid flows out due to pressure
difference caused by the
difference in height (h ρ g).
Sucker hook

• When the sucker hook is press,

the air inside is forced out and
leaving a low pressure area.
• The higher external atmospheric
pressure outside pressed down on
the hook and makes its stick firmly
to the wall.
Transmission of pressure in liquids and
gases

• It was first recognized by a French

mathematician and physicist called Blaise
Pascal in the 17th century.
• Pressure is equally distributed in a fluid and
equally transmitted as shown in the
following in the figure.
• Pascal’s principle of transmission of pressure
in fluids states that, “for incompressible
fluids in an enclosed vessel, pressure
exerted at one point is transmitted equally
to all others parts of the vessel.”
Applications of pascal’s principle
Applications, cont’
• Hydraulic brake system
• the master cylinder transmits
pressure to the four slave
cylinders on each wheel.
• The cylinders contain brake fluid.
• Fluid is used because liquids are
almost incompressible.
Applications, cont’
• When force is applied in the pedal the resulting pressure in the
master cylinder is transmitted to the slave cylinders.
• This forces the piston to open the brake shoes which then pushes the
brake lining against the drum.
• This force the rotation of the wheel to slow down. It is important to
note that pressure is equally distributed in all wheels so that the car
doesn’t pull or veer to one side.
Hydraulic press

• It consists of two pistons with different

cross -sectional areas.
• Since pressure is transmitted equally in
fluids, when force is applied in one piston
it is transmitted to the other piston.
• The smaller piston is called the force
while the bigger piston is called the load.
• They are used to lift heavy loads in
industries, bending metals and sheets etc.
Examples
• The area of the smaller piston of a hydraulic press is 0.01 m2 and that
of the bigger piston is 0.5 m2. If the force applied to the smaller piston
is 2 N, what force is transmitted to the larger piston?
• The master cylinder piston in a car braking system has a diameter of
2.0 cm. The effective area of the brake pads on each of the four
wheels is 30 cm 2. The driver exerts a force of 500 n on the brake
pedal. Calculate
• The pressure in the master cylinder
• The total braking force in the car.