Question

What is the pressure exerted by a weight of $80\mathrm{N}$ on an area of $1.6{\mathrm{m}}^2$?

Answer 1

Step 1: Given data

Weight, $\mathrm{W}=80\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{N}$

Area $A=1.6\hspace{0.17em}{\text{m}}^2$

Step 2: Write an expression for pressure

Pressure is defined as the force per unit area, So we can write

$\mathrm{p}=\frac{\mathrm{F}}{\mathrm{A}}=\frac{\mathrm{W}}{\mathrm{A}}$

Substitute $80\hspace{0.17em}\text{N}$ for $w$ and $1.6\hspace{0.17em}{\text{m}}^2$ for $\mathrm{A}$ in expression of pressure:

$p=\frac{80\text{N}}{1.6{\text{m}}^2}=50\frac{\text{N}}{{\text{m}}^2}$

Hence, Pressure is $50\raisebox{1ex}{$\mathrm{N}$}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{${\mathrm{m}}^2$}\right.$.