Units of measure - AQAPressure

Units of measurement let us describe and compare length, weight, area, volume, density and other values. Units can be imperial or metric and they can be converted using conversion factors.

Part ofMathsGeometry and measure

Pressure

Pressure is the per unit area.

The pressure exerted by a solid object which is resting on top of another solid surface is the weight of the object divided by the area of the object's surface.

The formula for pressure is:

\(\text{pressure} = \frac{\text{force}}{\text{area}}\)

The unit of force is a Newton (N).

The unit of area is a square metre (m2).

The unit of pressure is a Pascal (Pa).

One Pascal is equivalent to one /m2.

Example

The surface area of a pair of skis is 0.25 m2. The weight of a skier is 700N. How much pressure does the skier exert on the snow?

\(\text{pressure} = \frac{\text{weight}}{\text{area}}\)

\(\text{pressure} = \frac{700}{0.25}\)

The pressure is 2800 Pa.

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