What is Pressure?

• Pressure is related to the word

press
• Pressure refers to a force
pushing on a surface.
• For example, when you lean on a
wall, you push against the wall and
exert pressure on it.
• When you stand on the ground ,
the force of gravity pulls you
downward. So the soles of your
shoes push down on the ground
and exert pressure on it.
 Calculating Pressure
• The relationship between force,
area, and pressure are summarized
in the following formula:

• Pressure = Force
Area
* Pressure is equal to the force
exerted on a surface divided by the
total area over which the force is
exerted.
 Pascal
• Force is measured in Newtons
• Area is measured in square
meters
• The SI unit of pressure is the
newton per square meter or
(N/m )
 Pascal
• This unit of pressure is also
called the pascal (Pa): 1N/m
= 1 Pa.
• When area is measured in
smaller units, we use squared
centimeters instead of squared
feet.
Lower and Higher Pressure

• You can produce a lower

pressure by increasing area a
force acts on.
• You can produce higher
pressure by decreasing area a
force act on.
• For example, the blades of ice
skates have a very small
surface area so they exert
much higher pressure on the
ice than ordinary shoes do.
 Fluid Pressure
• A fluid is a substance that can
easily flow.
• As a result fluid is able to
change shape.
• Both liquids and gases have
this property.
• Examples are air, helium,
water, and oil
What are fluids made up of?
• Fluids exert pressure against the
surfaces they touch.
• Like all matter, fluids are made up
of molecules.
• These molecules are tiny particles
that are much too small to see with
the naked eye or even a good
microscope.
• One liter of water contains 33
trillion, trillion molecules or 33
followed by 24 zeros.
• In fluids, molecules are constantly
moving around at high speeds.
• They are constantly colliding with
each other and other surfaces they
come into contact with.
 Pressure exerted by Fluids
• As each molecule collides with a
surface, it exerts a force on the
surface.
• All of the forces exerted by the
individual molecules in a fluid add
together to make up the pressure
exerted by the fluid.
• Fluid pressure is the total force
exerted by the fluid divided by the
area over which the force is exerted.
 Fluid Pressure All Around
• If you hold out your hand in
front of you, palm up, you are
actually holding up a weight
equivalent to a washing
machine.
• You are surrounded by a fluid
that presses down on you all
the time.
• This fluid is the mixture of
gases that make up the
Earth’s atmosphere.
• The pressure exerted by the
air is usually referred to as air
pressure or atmospheric
pressure.
 Balanced Pressures
• How could your hand possibly
support the weight of the
atmosphere when you don’t
feel a thing?
• In a fluid that is not moving,
pressure at a given point is
exerted equally in all
directions.
• Air is pushing down on the
palm of your hand with 10.13
newtons per centimeter
squared.
• It is also pushing up on your
hand with the same amount of
pressure so the two pressures
balance each other out and
you don’t feel a thing.
 Pressure inside your body
• Why aren’t we crushed even
though the air pressure
outside your body is so great?
• The reason is because the
pressure inside your body
balances the air pressure
outside your body.
• Where does the pressure come
from?
• The pressure inside your body
comes from fluids within your
body .
• Some parts of your body, lungs,
sinus cavities, and inner ears
contain air. Other parts contain
cells and your blood vessels
contain liquids.
Variations in Fluid Pressure

• Air pressure decreases as

elevation increases.
• Air pressure at a given point
results from the weight of air
above that point.
• At higher elevations, there is
less air above and therefore
less weight of air to support.
 Why do your ears pop?
• The reason your ears pop is because
if air pressure decreases as you
move up in elevation, the air pressure
outside your body changes. The air
pressure inside will adjust, but more
slowly.
• For a moment, the air pressure
behind your eardrums is greater than
it is outside, so your body releases
this pressure with a “pop” so that the
pressures are once again balanced.
 Pressure and Depth
• Fluid pressure depends on depth.
• The deeper you swim, the greater
the pressure you feel.
• Water pressure increases as depth
increases.
• As with air, you think of water
pressure as being due to the
weight of the water above a
particular point.
• In addition, air in the atmosphere
also pushes down on the water.
• Therefore the total pressure at a
given point below the water results
from the weight of the water as
well as the air above it.
• In the deepest parts of the ocean,
the pressure is more than 1000
times the air pressure you
experience every day.