Pressure

What is pressure?

• Pressure is defined as the force acting per unit area.
• SI unit is Pa or N m⁻²

Factors affecting Pressure

• For the same amount of force exerted, the pressure can be increased by decreasing the base area.
• Given the same area, pressure can be increased by increasing the force.

Classic Pressure Questions

1. Explain why a sharp knife cuts better than a blunt one.

• A sharp knife has a smaller area of contact with the object to be cut.
• For the same force exerted, a smaller area gives greater pressure as indicated by Pressure = Force / Area