Question

Explain why, porters place a thick, round piece of cloth on their heads when they have to carry heavy loads.

Answer 1

1. Porters place a round piece of cloth on their heads when they carry heavy loads as the round piece of cloth increases the area on which the load is placed.
2. Pressure is defined as the force acting normally on a unit surface area of a body.
3. Mathematically; $Pressure=\frac{Force}{Area}$
4. Thus, we can say that force is directly proportional to the applied force and inversely proportional to the surface area of the body on which the force is being applied.
5. This means when the surface is more than the pressure is less.
6. Thus the pressure on the heads of the porters, due to the loads, gets reduced.
   
7. Therefore, the porters use a thick, round piece of cloth on their heads.