Question

Two women are of the same weight. One wears sandals with pointed heels while the other wears sandals with flat soles. Which one would feel more comfortable while walking on a sandy beach? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer 1

Force:

1. Force is defined as the rate of change of momentum.
2. It is a vector quantity.
3. If the weight of the component is the same it means the force applied by the components is the same.

Pressure

1. Pressure is defined as the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed.
2. $Pressure=\frac{Force}{Area}$

Sandy beach:

1. Sandy beach contains loose deposits of sand and some gravel are mixed with the sand.
2. Since the pressure is inversely proportional to the area. If the area is less then the pressure is more and vice versa for the same weight.
3. In the pointed heels, the area is less. So, for the same weight, pressure is more and flat soles have a large surface area and hence less pressure.
4. If the pressure is more. So it sinks more into the sandy beach.

Since, in pointed heels, it sinks more. Therefore, it is difficult to walk on the sandy beach.

Hence, for the flat soles, it is more comfortable to walk on the sandy beach in comparison to pointed heels.