PRESSURE

for GENERAL PHYSICS 1/ Grade 12

Quarter 2/ Week 5

1
 FOREWORD

This Self Learning Kit will serve as a guide for the Grade 12 STEM learners to
comprehend and internalize the relationship of pressure to area, force, fluid
density and depth, solve problems related to the concept of pressure and to
learn the different real-life situations wherein the concept can be applied.

This Self Learning Kit will provide a short and learner-friendly content that
stirs curiosity, develop understanding and support critical thinking.

The writer hopes that this Self Learning Kit can serve its purpose to the
target learners. Mastery of the content is encouraged before proceeding to
the next learning competency.

2
 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Self-Learning Kit, you should be able to:

K: define pressure based on its relationship to area and force; and fluid
density and depth.
S: solve problems related to pressure; and
A: explain the application of pressure based on real-life situations.

LEARNING COMPETENCIES:

Relate pressure to area and force (STEM_GP12FM-IIf-41).

Relate pressure to fluid density and depth (STEM_GP12FM-IIf-42).

I. WHAT HAPPENED

Yes! That is so true Neil. Recall the time too

when we went swimming and there was a
huge wave. I really felt that it has a strong
force.

Hello everyone! It’s Neil

We usually use force and
again. Did you know that as
pressure in everyday
I am waiving my hand, I
language with having
can feel the force from the
pretty much the same
air around me? Try it for
meaning, but in physics,
yourself and find out.
they are different. These
words describe distinct
quantities with different
characteristics.

Let’s journey together and learn

more!

3
PRE-TEST:
MULTIPLE CHOICE: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your
answer on your notebook/Activity Sheet.

4
II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW
DISCUSSION:

PRESSURE
Pressure in layman terms is the push on the surface created by one or
more forces. So, we can say that pressure is an effect the force produces on
an object.

In Physics, Pressure (p) is defined as the normal force (F) acting per unit
area (A), or

To define the pressure at a specific point, the pressure is defined as the

force exerted by a fluid over an infinitesimal element of area
containing the point, resulting in

The SI unit of pressure is the pascal (Pa) named after the French
mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), where,

The pressure exerted by one body on another depends on two factors:

1. The magnitude of force applied:
 To increase the pressure applied to any object increases the
amount of force applied.
 So, greater the force greater would be the pressure applied.
 The reason this effect happens because pressure varies
directly with force as per our definition.
2. The area over which force is applied:
 This area is the area of contact between two objects.
 You can increase pressure due to the same force by reducing
the amount of area over which the force is acting.

Application of Pressure in Daily Life

We have two cases when it comes to the application of pressure in daily

life:
Case 1: - Small area resulting in greater pressure
Case 2: - Large area resulting in smaller pressure

5
 Infographic given below lists all these applications with images so that
you can relate to the concept.

6
 https://tinyurl.com/PresSure-SeaRchMe

Sample Problem 1:
 If a force of 10 N acts over an area of 5m 2, what is the pressure?

Given:
F = 10 N
A = 5m2

Solution:

7
Sample Problem 2:
 A box weighs 100 N and exerts a pressure of 50 N/m 2. What is its area?

Given:
F = 100 N
p = 50 N/m2

Solution:

Variation of Pressure with Depth in a Fluid

Consider the container in Figure 1. The bottom of this container supports

the entire weight of the fluid in it. The vertical sides cannot exert an upward
force on the fluid (since it cannot withstand a shearing force), and so the
bottom must support it all.

𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝑨𝒉

Let us calculate the pressure exerted on the bottom by the weight of

the fluid. That pressure is the weight of the fluid mg divided by the area A
supporting it (the area of the bottom of the container):

8
 We can find the mass of the fluid from its volume and density:

The volume of the fluid V is related to the dimensions of the container. It

is

where A is the cross-sectional area and h is the depth. Combining the last
two equations gives

If we enter this into the expression for pressure, we obtain

The area cancels, and rearranging the variables results to

pressure due to the weight of a fluid

This equation ( ) represents the pressure due to the weight of

any fluid of average density ρ at any depth h below its surface. For liquids,
which are nearly incompressible, this equation holds to great depths. For
gases, which are quite compressible, one can apply this equation if the
density changes are small over the depth considered.

Sample Problem 3.
 Calculate the Average Pressure and Force Exerted: What force must a
dam withstand?
 The dam is 500 m wide, and the water is 80.0 m deep at the dam.
(a) What is the average pressure on the dam due to the water?
(b) Calculate the force exerted against the dam and compare it
with the weight of water in the dam ( ).

Strategy for (a):

The average pressure ̅ due to the weight of the water is the pressure
at the average depth ̅ , which is ̅ since pressure
increases linearly with depth.

9
Solution for (a):
The average pressure due to the weight of a fluid is

̅ ̅

Entering the density of water and taking ̅ to be the average

depth of and gravitational force of or we obtain

̅ ( )( )

Strategy for (b):

The force exerted on the dam by the water is the average
pressure times the area of contact:
̅

Solution for (b):

We have already found the value for ̅ . The area of the dam is
, so that

̅ ( )

Discussion on Sample Problem 1.

Although this force seems large, it is
small compared with the
weight of the water in the reservoir
reservoir—in fact, it is only 0.0800% of the
weight. Note that the pressure found in
part (a) is completely independent of
the width and length of the lake—it
depends only on its average depth at
the dam. Thus, the force depends only
on the water’s average depth and the
dimensions of the dam, not on the
horizontal extent of the reservoir. In the
diagram (Figure 2), the thickness of the
dam increases with depth to balance
the increasing force due to the
increasing pressure. Figure 2

10
 Atmospheric pressure is another
example of pressure due to the weight
of a fluid, in this case due to the weight
of air above a given height. The
atmospheric pressure at the Earth’s
surface varies a little due to the large-
scale flow of the atmosphere induced
by the Earth’s rotation (this creates
weather ―highs‖ and ―lows‖). However,
the average pressure at sea level is
given by the standard atmospheric
pressure , measured to be

http://www.wright.edu/~guy.vandegrift/openstaxphysics/c
⁄ haps/11%20Fluid%20statics.pdf
Figure 3

This relationship means that, on average, at sea level, a column of air

above 1.00 m2 of the Earth’s surface has a weight of ⁄ ,
equivalent to 1 atm (see Figure 3).

Sample Problem 4: Calculating Average Density: How dense is the air?

 Calculate the average density of the atmosphere, given that it extends
to an altitude of . Compare this density with that of air
⁄

Strategy:
If we solve for density, we see that

We then take to be atmospheric pressure and is given,

and is known, and so we can use this to calculate ̅

11
Solution:
Entering the known values into the expression for ̅ results to,

⁄
̅
⁄

⁄
̅
⁄

( )( )

Discussion for Sample Problem 2.

This result is the average density of air between the Earth’s surface and
the top of the Earth’s atmosphere, which is essentially ends at 120 km. The
density of air at sea level is ⁄ – about 15 times its average
value. Because air is so compressible, its density has its highest value near the
Earth’s surface and declines rapidly with altitude.

Pressure P is the weight of the fluid mg divided by the area A supporting

it (the area of the bottom of the container):
𝒎𝒈
𝑷
𝑨
The pressure due to the weight of any fluid of average density ρ at any
depth h below its surface is represented by the equation
𝑷 𝒉𝝆𝒈.
Atmospheric pressure is force per unit area exerted by an atmospheric
column (that is, the entire body of air above the specified area).

12
 III. WHAT HAVE I LEARNED

PERFOMANCE TASKS

 Hold a sharp pencil between your two fingers and start pressing it from both
sides.

Questions: (Answer this on your notebook)

1. What have you observed on each of your fingers?
2. Which finger did the pencil left a deeper mark?
3. Which tip of the pencil do your think has a greater pressure? Explain your
answer.

ACTIVITY 2: Problem Solving:

Directions: Solve the given problems below. Write your answer with
solution on your notebook.
a. A 20,000 N elephant and each of its four feet have and area of
0.05m2. What pressure does it exert on the ground?
b. An office safe has a weight of 500 N. If the area of the base is 1.25
m2, what is the pressure of the floor?
c. At a depth of 12.5 m of a chemical solvent the pressure at the
bottom of the storage tank due to the solvent was 306 kPa.
Calculate density of the solvent.
d. Divers have to be careful when working at depth in water and need
to carefully control the dissolving of gases in their blood stream. (a)
Calculate the pressure created by a 30 m depth of water given
the density of water is 1000 kg/m3 and gravity 9.8 N/kg.

13
 WRITTEN WORKS

Directions: Answer the following questions in 3 to 5 sentences. Write your

answer on your notebook:
1. Explain the relationship of pressure to fluid depth and density based
on the equation or formula. (5 points)
2. Why does atmospheric pressure decrease more rapidly than linearly
with altitude? (5 points)

EVALUATION/POST-TEST:
Directions: Identify the correct answer. Read the questions carefully
and write the answer on your notebook.
1. What is the formula for pressure?
2. It is the mass of a unit volume of a material substance.
3. Pressure is directly proportional to force and inversely proportional to
____.
4. The _________ exerted on you is a result of the weight of air above
you.
5. Under water, the pressure exerted on you _________ with increasing
depth.
6. It is the weight of the fluid mg divided by the area A supporting it
(the area of the bottom of the container).
7. It is force per unit area exerted by an atmospheric column (that is,
the entire body of air above the specified area).
8. You can increase pressure due to the same force by reducing the
_____ over which the force is acting.
9. Small area resulting in ____ pressure.
10. Larger area resulting in _____ pressure.

14
 REFERENCES

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. 2020. Atmospheric pressure.

Encyclopædia Britannica, May 27.
https://www.britannica.com/science/atmospheric-pressure.
Ling, Samuel J., Jeff Sanny Loyola, and William Moebs. 2016. University
Physics. Vol. 1. OpenStax.
https://openstax.org/details/books/university-physics-volume-1
in your citation.
n.d. GCSE Physics notes: Pressure in liquids and hydraulic machines.
http://www.docbrown.info/ephysics/forces6.htm.

n.d.
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/prs/hght.rxml#:
~:text=At%20higher%20elevations%2C%20there%20are,similar%2
0surface%20at%20lower%20levels.&text=Since%20most%20of%2
0the%20atmosphere's,more%20slowly%20at%20higher%20levels.

n.d. lumen Physics.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/chapter/11-4-
variation-of-pressure-with-depth-in-a-fluid/.

15
 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division of Negros Oriental

SENEN PRISCILLO P. PAULIN, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent

FAY C. LUAREZ, TM, Ed.D., Ph.D.

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Acting CID Chief

NILITA L. RAGAY, Ed.D.

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

ROSELA R. ABIERA
Education Program Supervisor – (LRMS)

ARNOLD R. JUNGCO
PSDS – Division Science Coordinator

MARICEL S. RASID
Librarian II (LRMDS)

ELMAR L. CABRERA
PDO II (LRMDS)

GENEVA FAYE L. MENDOZA

Writer/Illustrator/Lay-out Artist

_________________________________

QUALITY ASSURANCE TEAM

ARNOLD D. ACADEMIA
ZENAIDA A. ACADEMIA
LIEZEL A. AGOR
MARY JOYCEN A. ALAM-ALAM
EUFRATES G. ANSOK JR.
JOAN Y. BUBULI
LIELIN A. DE LA ZERNA
ADELINE FE D. DIMAANO
RANJEL D. ESTIMAR
VICENTE B. MONGCOPA
FLORENTINA P. PASAJINGUE
THOMAS JOGIE U. TOLEDO

DISCLAIMER

The information, activities and assessments used in this material are designed to provide
accessible learning modality to the teachers and learners of the Division of Negros Oriental. The
contents of this module are carefully researched, chosen, and evaluated to comply with the set
learning competencies. The writers and evaluator were clearly instructed to give credits to
information and illustrations used to substantiate this material. All content is subject to copyright
and may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent from the division.

16
 SYNOPSIS AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANSWER KEY

This Self-learning kit is designed to

aid students to independently learn the
important concepts about pressure
and its relationship to area, fluid density
and depth.

The discussion and tasks related

the topic are arranged symmetrically
and explained in detail so that the
students are guided. The students are
expected to master this lesson and
value its application to the physical
world.

GENEVA FAYE L. MENDOZA completed her BSE –

Physical Science at NORSU-Bayawan Campus. She
taught Science 7 to 10 at Eligio T. Monte de Ramos High
School, Santa Catalina District 1. Now, she teaches
Science 8 and 10, TLE-ICT-CSS 9 and 10 at Casiano Z.
Napigkit National High School, Santa Catalina District 1.

17