PRESSURE

Pressure is defined as a measure of the force applied over a unit area. Pressure is often expressed in the units of
Pascal (Pa), Newton per square meter (N/m2 or kg/ms2). Pressure is a scalar quantity meaning it has a magnitude
but no direction. Other units include the atmosphere (atm), torr, and bar. Pressure is expressed as:

Where:
P- Pressure / Pa
F- Force / N
A- Area / m2

CONVERSION TO NOTE
1 atm = 1.01325 x 105 Pa
1 Torr = 133.322 Pa
1 Bar = 1 x 105 Pa
1 Bar = 100kPa
1 Bar = 1000 millibars

Pressure in liquids and gases

Liquids and gases are fluids. A fluid is able to change shape and flow from place to place. Fluids exert
pressure on surfaces and this pressure acts at 900C to those surfaces.
Pressure in liquids
Liquid pressure is the increase in pressure at increasing depths in a liquid. This pressure increases
because the liquid at lower depths has to support all of the water above it.
Pressure in gases
Pressure is caused by the collisions between the atoms of gases and the mass of the container as these atoms
travel in the confined space.
Atmospheric pressure is the pressure caused by the mass of our gaseous atmosphere. It can be measured using
mercury in the equation P = pgh. Atmospheric pressure can be measured in atm, torr, mmHg, Pa etc.
The Earth’s atmosphere is a deep layer of gases reaching beyond 100km above the Earth’s surface. Pressure in
the atmosphere increases in depth in a similar way to the pressure in a liquid but the difference in density as you
travel deeper into the atmosphere is far greater than that in liquids.
At sea level the pressure is approximately 100kPa which is often referred to as ‘one atmosphere’ pressure. As
water is much denser than air, travelling to a depth of 10m in water will increase the pressure acting on you to
two atmospheres.
Questions:
1. Calculate the pressure under a girl’s foot in Pascal if her mass is 33.6kg and the area of her shoe is
165cm2.
2. The density of liquid mercury is 14 x 103 kgm-3. Calculate the liquid pressure 0.73m below the
surface of mercury.
3. If a pressure gauge measures an increase in 3 x 104 Pa on an area of 0.07m2. What is the increase in
the force applied to the area?
4. Find the pressure produced by a kilogram of lead on a horizontal surface if the area it rests on is
0.02m2?
5. A scuba diver measures an increase in pressure of around 105 Pa upon descending by 10m, what is
the change in force per square centimeter on the diver’s body?
6. If the density of sea water is 1030kgm-3, what is the pressure at 10m below sea level?
7. What